Motlhagodi blames 8-1 loss on lack of preparation
Kabelo Boranabi | Tuesday July 14, 2015 13:09
Motlhagodi said the loss to their neighbours in Dobsonville on Sunday was down to poor preparations. Motlhagodi said his team lacked match fitness as compared to their opponents on the day.
“Our league is on break, while the South African one is still on, which is why our opponents looked sharper than us. “They have been playing competitive football while we were not,” he said. He further said his team only played one practice match before the encounter and that was not enough to improve the players’ fitness and helping in coming up with good combinations for the game.
He said he had little time to prepare the team as majority of his players were held up by school commitments, while some were taking part in the ongoing Botswana Integrated Sports Association (BISA) competitions.
“I had only a week to prepare my team, though I had hoped for more than (the) two weeks. The training pitch was also not up to standard.
“The grass was bad and not good for football at all. We only had 45 minutes on the match venue. We could not do much, we just had to knock the ball around,” he said.
However, Motlhagodi said his game plan was to get a positive result against their opponents.
“We wanted to get a win in their home ground, so we would have an upper hand when they visit for the second leg.
“However, that did not go according to plan. We will be looking to give a more improved performance in the second leg,” he promised.
A brace each from Anelisa Ndyebi, Gabriella Salgabo and Thembi Kgatlana and goals from Chamelle Wiltshire, Linda Motlhalo stirred Basetsana to victory, while Refilwe Matlho pulled one back for the local girls through a free kick.
The second leg takes place in Botswana in a fortnight.