By Patience Lephogole
Prisons XI Public Relations Officer (PRO) Oagile Kojane has expressed optimism that the team’s second win of the season will galvanize it to perform better in its coming fixtures.
After a winless streak that stretched over eight games, ‘The Warders’ finally broke their duck with a 1 ÔÇô 0 win over Security Systems in a game played at the Molepolole Sports Complex this past Sunday afternoon.
Prior to their win on Sunday, Prisons XI had last won a match two months ago on September 9th when they beat Sankoyo Bush Bucks in their first game of the Botswana Premier League (BPL) 2018/19 season.
Ever since then, ‘The Warders,’ who also lost their long time coach, struggled to find their mojo in the league and were under pressure to produce positive results when they met with Systems.
Despite a labored performance, which saw both teams fail to hit the back of the net, a 55th minute goal by Deus Bukenya was enough to seal ‘The Warders’ first win of the season and elevate them to the 14th position on the log.
‘The Warders’ have now amassed nine points from their ten games this season and are now just one place behind their Systems, while Systems registered their seventh loss, which is the league’s current highest.
Like the most part of the season, Systems were left to rue the half chances they created for the remainder of the match and dropped down to the 13th spot.
Speaking in an interview, a delighted Kojane said the win against Systems came at the right time as it changed the team’s log standing. “We have moved 2 teams up, which is a good thing. We were at the bottom of the log,” he said.
He observed that the morale in the team is high and they now expect a full backing from their supporters.
“Our supporters need to rally behind the team to keep it in form, because their presence is vital to the team’s performance,” he added.
To maintain the team’s momentum, Kojane said the management will be doing all in its power to ensure players perform at expected levels. “We need to intensify our preparations and get ready for the next games,” he said.
With the FIFA international break on the horizon, the Prisons XI PRO said they intend to take the team out on a retreat.
“We will take the team out on a retreat, for them to freshen up and make way forwards. Thereafter they will go on a little break, before we face Miscellaneous,” he concluded.
