We were determined not to lose at home - Motlhabankwe - World Cup 2014

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We were determined not to lose at home - Motlhabankwe

06-11-2012

We were determined not to lose at home - Motlhabankwe

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Botswana recovered from an early first half deficit to draw 1-1 at home against South Africa's Bafana Bafana in a group A Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifier in Gaborone at the weekend . The Zebras were lively in their second half display and created some goal scoring chances that could have seen them grab full points.

Cafonline.com had a chat with Botswana's long serving utility player Tshepo Motlhabankwe after the match.

Cafonline.com: You managed to equalize and settle for a draw, what was on your mind after conceding a goal early in the half?

Motlhabankwe: We never gave up the fight. It was still too early in the match and everyone pulled up their socks and it paid off as we got an equalizer. We badly wanted to win that game and there was no way we were going to lose at home.

Cafonline.com: The starting (11) today was only locally based players, were you not intimidated by your opponents who had a couple of European based players in their fold?

Motlhabankwe: Not at all, we had some experienced guys in the team like Thuma (Mompati), myself and Ndiyapo Letsholathebe. We guided the youngsters well and I am sure there was no respect for any names here today.

Cafonline.com: You created a couple of chances towards halftime and early in the second half, Was it a match you could have won?

Motlhabankwe: Definitely, we could have won today if we converted some of the chances we created. We played very well. Unlike in previous matches, we linked our passes well and we were creative going forward, it’s only unfortunate that we did not score more goals from the chances we created.

Cafonline.com: So would you say the result is a true reflection of what happened in the match?

Motlhabankwe: Not really, we both created chances and many goals could have been scored if the finishing was good.

Cafonline.com: You have managed to collect one point after two games, what do you make of your qualification chances?

Motlhabankwe: We still have four matches to play, meaning we can collect 12 points. It is now very important that we win our next match to keep our qualification hopes alive.

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