Team of Choice beat Winnie All Stars

Team of Choice beat Winnie All Stars at Sunday’s Powerico winter games played at Square Two behind Mehlareng Stadium.

Team of Choice’s coach, Levious Makelana, said at the beginning of the game they were sure of the win because Team of Choice, affectionately known as Balobedu, were under pressure from the supporters.

“My players play on the professional side for leagues like Vodacom and NFD.

“Therefore the boys were fit and well-prepared for the game.

“First half was good. Our attitude and approach were to score early and avoid conceding any goal,” said Levious.

He said the opponents were very scared of them and they made sure to park the bus.

“King Monada scored our first goal.

“The second goal was scored by Limo. Just before half-time break we conceded a goal.

“The mistake from my players was that they started to relax after the two goals.

“They made careless passes and that is why we conceded that goal,” Levious explained.

He said their opponents gained momentum as Team of Choice gave them too much space and they used that opportunity.

When the whistle blew for half-time break the score was 2-1 in favour of Team of Choice.

“I told the boys not underestimate the opponents.

“I made them aware that they were too reckless.

“I knew that the opponents were now going to attack in numbers; we had to be strong in our counter attacks.

“Our striker had to take responsibility to get the ball through the opponent’s defence and face the goalkeeper.

“We needed to play as a team,” Makelana said.

In the second half, Levious let the game continue for about 10 minutes before he could make a substitution.

“I took out Marebate and King Monada and put in Kaka and Okonkwo.

“We then started to play the football we are used to and we enjoyed the field of play.

“Terry scored our third goal and the score became 3-1 in favour of my team,” said Levious.

He said they attacked as he advised them and they were creating more chances.

“Maradona scored the fourth goal. Our goalkeeper made a mistake when he kicked the ball straight to the opponents and Winnie All Stars used that opportunity and that’s why we conceded that goal.

“We were then leading 4-2 when I made another substitution.

“I took out Limo and put in Lenny,” Levious said.

He said he had to make a crucial decision to protect Maradona from injuries and save him for future games.

He took Maradona out and put in Mpho.

“We started to build confidence and made well-thought passes. Lenny scored the fifth goal.

“We were then leading 5-2 and we started to show off our skills and knocked the ball around,” said Levious.

When the final whistle blew the score was 5-2 in favour of Team of Choice.