Ngele makes return against Rollers

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Wednesday December 8, 2010 00:00

The twist in the tale is that it is Rollers, which sparked a bitter transfer wrangle with Santos that has locked the striker out of the national team and club football through suspension. As fate would have it, Ngele is making his return against a team he is supposed to have joined this season. The dispute over the striker has soured relations between the two clubs and the forthcoming clash is likely to be tense with the player on the spotlight.

The encounter provides Ngele with an opportunity to prove that he is worthy of a place in the Young Zebras' team that will face Namibia in an Olympic qualifier in a fortnight. The Young Zebras travel to Namibia's capital, Windhoek, for the return leg of the qualifier on 17 December. Under-23 coach, Daniel 'Chicco' Nare has made it clear that he needs the Santos' forward and he gets the chance to assess him against Rollers. Due to the suspension slapped on him due to the transfer wrangle, Ngele missed the first leg match that the Young Zebras won 1-0 courtesy of an Ofentse Nato goal.

'Tsotso is back but what we are not sure of is his fitness level. He has been out for four months and I have to wait for Santos-Rollers' game on Friday night. If he plays a part in that game, it will give me a clear picture of where he is in terms of fitness,' Nare told Mmegi Sport. 'I need him because I know if we create a few chances, he will get goals for us,' he added. Already, Nare has lost United States-based striker Aubrey Kebonnetse who went under the knife last week. The Dayton University student will miss the Namibia game.

'There's a challenge - Aubrey is injured. He was due for an operation on his knee and we don't know how long it will take before he recovers. We spoke to him last week and he indicated that the operation would be done on the 30th of November. So he will not be around,' said Nare.

Kebonnetse had taken his examinations earlier so he could play a part in the qualifier. However, he will now have to miss it due to the operation. Nare will take solace in the availability of Extension Gunners' Hendrick Moyo and Notwane's Lemogang Maswena. Maswena is part of the Under-20 team that is taking part in the ongoing Metropolitan COSAFA Under-20 tournament. Moyo missed the first leg against Namibia due to unavailability of his passport. 'We have no problems of goal scoring at club level. Maswena of Notwane is a proven goal scorer, so is Hendrick at Gunners,' Nare said. The team is currently in camp. Five of the players are with the Under-20 team.

The bulk of the current crop graduated from the Under-20 side that has the likes of Rollers' goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe, Notwane linkman Kgaodi Odirile, Ofentse Nato of Gaborone United and Santos' Bakang Moeng.