They convincingly scored a 3-0 victory over Notwane FC here at Buffalo Park on Saturday afternoon. Despite the emphatic scoreline, assistant coach Joel Mogorosi believes his charges have barely scratched the surface as they seek to erase last season's painful promotion play-off heartbreak. A debut brace from winter signing Thabiso Boti and a late strike from substitute Omphemetse Athibeng handed Dinare a dream start to a campaign in which automatic promotion remains the ultimate prize. Having enjoyed an impressive debut season in the second tier, during which they briefly set the pace in the southern stream before stumbling in the promotion play-offs, Dinare are determined to avoid another near miss.
Mogorosi made it clear that while cup competitions remain important, securing top-flight football takes precedence. "We have been playing the Prestige Cup, but the prize is not like this one for the league because our main target is to get promotion. So this is the real business. "I'm not saying we don't want to win the cup, but this is what we want more than anything else," he said. On Saturday, Dinare needed just a minute to announce their intentions as Boti opened his account for the club, handing the hosts an early advantage. The home side continued to dominate proceedings, with the attacking combination of Boti, Raymond Arthur and Omphile Phale repeatedly troubling the visitors. However, Notwane goalkeeper Kabelo Balelanye produced an impressive display to keep the scoreline respectable heading into the break. Notwane emerged a much-improved side after halftime, absorbing pressure and occasionally threatening on the counterattack as Dinare struggled to maintain their early intensity. However, the visitors' resistance eventually crumbled in the closing stages.
