William Monene impressed with team performance in Champions League group stages

The Botswana outfit played to a 0-0 draw in their opening match against JKT Queens, followed by yesterday’s 3-0 defeat to defending champions TP Mazembe at Right to Dream Stadium in Cairo. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, Monene says that despite the defeat to TP Mazembe his players have shown character in the past two matches and believes they are close to securing a win.

“I think we did well, especially in the first game. We played teams who are coming here for the second time. We are debutants and believe we played well in all aspects of the game. We were very good regarding defence principles and we were compact. It is only a few things that let us down,” said Monene.

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Gaborone United will face off ASEC Mimosas for a crucial spot in the semifinals on Saturday. 

Monene says they expect a tight match and they will treat it like a final.

“We are playing ASEC, it is going to be a good and tight clash. We will be fighting for a spot in the semis, we have one point and we will be at how the teams perform. We have watched ASEC Mimosas - we don’t need much from them, ours is to win the match and go into the next round,” added Monene.

Monene says he does not want to put pressure on the players as they are debutants in the competition - and adds that they are only targeting the semifinal, if they achieve more, it will be a bonus.

“We are debutants, so I don’t want to put pressure on the players - they need to enjoy themselves. But more than anything we are targeting the semifinals, if we achieve more then it is a bonus,” he expressed.