The Mares started their FIFA international break with a 2-1 win over Lesotho at the weekend before a 1-1 draw against Namibia on Tuesday.
Despite a spirited effort from the team in the two encounters, defensive errors emerged as a glaring concern for Malete, with goalkeepers Bame Mokime and Sedilame Boseja being culpable.
“Every day we are in camp is an opportunity for us to grow as a team, to interact with the players more on the grass, and I have seen improvements. But as much as we are improving, there are a lot of areas that we need to work on, both on the ball and off the ball, especially defensively, because we cannot be conceding silly goals like we did in these games,” Malete said. Malete further stressed that one of their main downfalls is failing to keep possession most of the time, where sometimes the team cannot even string together more than five passes. “In our first game against Lesotho, we struggled with maintaining possession.
We have to try our best to win the ball higher up the pitch, and one of the things we need to improve on each day, each camp, is how well we keep the ball. I feel we do not use the ball well at all because our players could not create spaces for themselves sometimes, especially against Namibia,” he bemoaned.
The coach admitted that sometimes the problems do not only come from the players but could also be from the technical bench as they set the tone for the team. “Having said that, there are a lot of things that we need to work on. Yeah, we have improved in some areas, like in terms of support, but the number of technical errors is worrisome. However, against Namibia, they were less,” Malete said. Although Malete criticised the team for errors in some instances, he acknowledged that the Mares did fairly well in most parts, as they did not lose either of the two games, and they also scored in both matches. “In terms of performance, we are happy that we managed to win against Lesotho but disappointed with the result against Namibia after creating so many opportunities.
Credit to the players for the job that they have done thus far,” he said. With uncertainty about when the WAFCON will be held due to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Malete feels that the period presents a great opportunity for him to get his house in order and be able to compete well at the finals.
“The WAFCON is not near. It is not in July, so we still have a chance to fix our mistakes. When you don’t have a date, you do not know who you are going to play against, which can be a bad thing, but for now, it gives us time to improve our game model in terms of the things we should maintain, reinforce, and improve,” he added. The international friendly matches gave Malete an opportunity to reshuffle his pack. Former junior Mares' captain, Lorato Motlogelwa was handed her debut against Lesotho and also started against the Brave Gladiators. Motlogwelwa was superb over the two ties and was voted player of the match against Lesotho. She raised her hand in the absence of regular, Veronica Mogotsi who missed the latest camp due to an injury. Gaborone United's Laone 'Lottah' Moloi was also handed her full debut against Lesotho.
The attacker continued her good form as she netted her first Mares goal during the tie. Deployed in a central attacking midfield role, Moloi was excellent and might have penned her name in the Morocco team list. Jessica Modise of Mexican Girls was introduced from the bench against Lesotho and she had a few bright moments but could not open her Mares account. Modise has been in decent form in the Kweneng Region Division 1 and was given a rare chance to lead the Mares' attack.
Boitumelo Gammu, Obonetse Rathari and Tshegofatso Mosotho returned to the Mares' set up and gave the technical team a something to ponder. Zambian based, Mokgabo Thanda was deployed in central defense role from the advanced positions as the Mares seek options at the back. "Since I have been with the team, this is the youngest squad in terms of the average age. We are 23, I think 22.8 years with six players from Under-20 also being part of the team and also part of the game, which I think is commendable," Malete said.
