Satmos were reduced to 10 men after Setlhabi Modimakwane was sent off for an off-the ball foul on Tshepo Molefhe.
Gunners now has 27 points with a game in hand against their Lobatse neighbours BMC. But the results of the Lobatse derby will not matter much to “Mapantsula” who have danced their way out of danger. For the past few seasons, Gunners have proved to be the Super League’s survival specialists and they proved that they are worthy of the tag on Saturday.
After the win against Satmos, jubilant Gunners fans flocked the road from the stadium to the Main Mall singing praise songs.
Satmos on the other hand are still worried about keeping their status in the elite league especially as they still have to play title chasing Tasc.
After the game against Gunners, Satmos coach Mooketsi “China” Mading said that he understood the hurdle he was faced with but that his team’s chances of remaining in the Super League are still good.
“We are still in the race but our last game against Tasc is going to be very difficult because while we are fighting for survival, they are keen on winning the championship. That is the game that we have to win at all costs,” he said.
China admitted that his team did not play well against Gunners especially in the first half where the mid-fielders failed to supply good passes to strikers.
“It is not that the top men were not doing the job but they were not getting good supply from the middle of the pack and that problem needs to be worked out if we are to win against Tasc,” he said.
Molefhe opened the scoring early in the first half but his effort was cancelled by Olebogebng “Beberto” Bolofete of Satmos who converted a penalty in the 43rd minute.
Thobo Kgoboge proved disastrous upfront for Satmos, easily giving the ball away and when he managed to hold on to it, he was reluctance to go for goal.
The boring game only came to life in the last 15 minutes when the two sides pressed hard for a winner. Gunners put in Stanford Sebeetswekgomo and that enabled defender Tshepo Motlhbankwe to start pushing forward.
He controlled the engine room with ease spraying passes throughout the field and cutting all dangerous moves down the centre of the park. With Sebeetswekgomo covering well for him, he was no longer worried about exposing his defence.
His exploits also helped Bushy Tuaka who had been harassing the Satmos defence on the right flank. His good crosses into the box were easily squandered by the forwards but with Motlhabankwe now pushing forward, Tuaka was able to present even more danger to the opponents and thus forced them into committing fouls near the goal area.
On the Satmos side, Olebogeng Bolofete started to give Ross Motswagae and Ndebele some problems but Kgoboge’s lack of vision and laziness proved disastrous. At one stage, Bolofete made a brave run with the ball from far left and passed it to Kgoboge. He then ran into space expecting the return ball but he watched frustratingly as his strike partner selfishly kept the ball. Mochudi Centre Chiefs’ 1-1 draw with Tafic in Francistown means that they are only waiting for a relegation partner which might be Prisons XI, Tafic or Satmos.
