Gunners capitalise on Western Boys’ mistakes
Gunners press hard, punish errors, and walk away 3-1.
Before they took to the field to battle Western Boys in their U15 ANLFA League fixture at Altrec Sports Complex on July 5, Gunners knew that if they committed more players forward, they would force their opponents to buckle under pressure and eventually make mistakes.
From the outset, Coach Lesiba Ditshego devised a tactical strategy that would allow his players to do just that – press Western Boys’ defenders to their breaking point. “We had four to five players every time we attacked, forcing some mistakes and capitalising on that. That is how we got the first two goals,” he said.
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Gunners’ Kgothatso Meso opened the scoring after Western Boys committed a contentious foul, with Gunners awarded a penalty. This was followed by Mokgohloa Maleka’s strike that gave them an early 2-0 lead.
While Ditshego said the penalty could be attributed to the pressure they had exerted on the opponent in their final third, Western Boys’ coach Michael Seboni argued that the referee had mistaken a ‘belly deflection’ for a handball.
“The ball came; the player tried to defend the ball; it hit his tummy. But the referee said it is a penalty,” he said.
During halftime, Seboni knew he had to do something. “As a coach, you always have hope that if you talk to the boys and let them know that trailing doesn’t mean we’ve lost, because the game is still on. That is why I was trying to motivate the boys.”
His motivation was enough to push his player, Xabanisa Achumile, to score, rattling the Gunners as the deficit was reduced to 2-1.
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“I was expecting another, but you know the boys; we are still grooming them. We can’t expect 100%.”
With Western Boys still clinging to the hope of an equaliser, Gunners’ Zandi Mojapelo extended their lead to seal his side’s 3-1 win.
Despite the impressive scoreline, Ditshego said the boys’ performance fell short of their everyday standard. “But we hustled and got the three points,” he said.
Seboni said, “We should have even won the game, because we had some chances that we never used. But they capitalised on our mistakes. That is why they buried us.”
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