13 Nov 2025

Gaborone United Ladies head coach William Monene says they can still pull through to the CAF Women’s Champions League semifinals, despite currently languishing at the bottom of Group B with a single point from two matches.

The Red Roses are fighting for survival in the tournament which is ongoing in Cairo, Egypt, after being crushed 3-0 by defending champions TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday. 

The loss followed a goalless draw against JKT Queens of Tanzania where the Red Roses squandered a glorious opportunity to win the match through a late penalty.  Keitumetse Dithebe’s tame spot kick was however saved by the goalkeeper.

Monene said in an interview that his players failed to come to the party in the first half of their match against TP Mazembe. 

“In all aspects of the game we were poor. We managed to address it during halftime and came out an improved side in the second half,” he said, admitting that the penalty awarded to their opponents killed their comeback plans.

The Red Roses will wrap up their group stages schedule with a must win encounter against ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast on Saturday. They should win the match to progress to the semifinals.

ASEC Mimosas are at the summit of the log with four points, followed by TP Mazembe with three, JKT Queens are third with two, while the Red Roses are bottom with a single point.

Monene stressed however that all the four teams could still advance, saying “we have to win to make it.”

While acknowledging that the match against ASEC Mimosas would not be easy, he emphasised his team’s determination.

The Red Roses have proven to be a resilient and defensive team, while ASEC Mimosas have shown efficiency and clinical finishing, demonstrated by their 1-0 win against TP Mazembe and a 1-1 draw against JKT Queens. The Ivorians are disciplined and rarely afford opponents clear-cut chances.

The challenge for the Red Roses is significant. While their defence was organised in the opening goalless draw, it collapsed against TP Mazembe.

They therefore must revert to their tenacious display which was evident during the COSAFA qualifying tournament to neutralise ASEC’s scoring threat.

As debutants, they have shown tactical discipline, but their major weakness is lack of attacking output, with no goals scored in the tournament.

To win, the Red Roses cannot rely on defence alone. They need to find an offensive spark. They would require a multi-goal victory to boost their current minus three goal difference and potentially surpass TP Mazembe and JKT Queens, assuming the result of the other Group B game leaves the door open.  ENDS