Mpote Achieves Rare Feat With Top 8 Win
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday March 9, 2020 11:50
In a game played at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium, Mpote led the Ostriches their second Mascom Top 8 triumph with 4-3 win on penalties over Township Rollers.
The victory effectively means that Teenage has won all the domestic cups. His first major achievement was with Rollers in 2017 when he led the Blues to the league championship unbeaten in 17 games at the helm. However, at the time he was appointed the team’s head coach on interim basis after the sudden departure of British coach, Mark Harrison who dumped Rollers mid way through the season. Mpote went onto win the FA Cup in June, once again beating Rollers 3-1 in the final.
On Saturday afternoon, the former Zebras coach, became the second local coach to win the Mascom Top 8 since David Bright in 2012. “The boys played for me, you could see that in the early stages they were nervous. I told them that we sit back and see what Rollers could do. We could not possess the ball, but made changes so that we could control the ball. In the end these are my boys. They did well today and I am happy to win the cup,” he said after the final.Mpote made his first appearance at the final as a head coach. But has been in the final five times before as assistant coach both at the Ostriches and the Blues. On a very successful night for him, the gaffer could not resist taking a dig at a club he spent almost a decade at. “Today, Rollers lack power, they have reduced speed. You could see that they are not fit, they were cramping. I really cannot explain how I feel. I have been in this position before and have won and lost it with Rollers. I think the dominance and revolution of football will change,” he said.
“We are no longer looking at Rollers and saying we want to beat Rollers. It is Rollers who are looking at Orapa and saying we need to beat Orapa. They want the revenge, and this is the second time that I have beaten them in the cup final,” Mpote said. He further said the local coaches are on par with their expatriate counterparts and called for their support.
“The local coaches are ready to lead these big clubs. They have shown great ability. You sometimes forget that we go to England, Germany for football courses. We still have coaches from these countries come here to coach. But we have the same knowledge and I believe we are on the same footing.” Mpote still has a season treble to fight for with the FA Cup and the league championship in sight.