TZW
Township Rollers made history as they became the first club from Botswana to reach the group stage of the African Champions League, buoyed by 2-1 away win in Dar es Salaam on March 6.
Yanga have now been relegated to CAF Confederation Cup play off whose fixture would be released on Friday. Yanga fought hard for victory but Rollers who had drew a huge attendance stood firm to finish 0-0 at the end of the 90 minutes. Even before the second leg, their ambitious coach, Nikola Kavazovic, had boldly declared “We are on our way to becoming a giant, if not in Africa, at least in southern Africa.” In the return leg, Rollers were held to a 0-0 draw in front of their fans to advance, leaving Kavazovic in tears after the final whistle.
In a post-match interview with rollersfc.com, head coach Nikola Kavazovic said the achievement was well deserved. “We totally deserve it, the four games we played against Al- Merreikh and Young Africans we dominated, not once were we ever under threat of elimination. It is not a surprise anymore, everything is down to the work we have put together since last July, me and my players have been speaking and working everyday.
As I said in the preview our intention was to dominate all four moments of the game, the ball possession we dominated, our defensive organisation was excellent and the two transitions were also good,” Kavazovic said. “Thank you supporters for your astounding support, unwavering passion and unconditional love for the team today by coming in large numbers at the National Stadium,” said the Coach.
Township Rollers thus make their maiden appearance in the group stage of the lucrative CAF Champions League, a feat that comes with a hefty prize tag of $ 550,000. The draw for the CAF Champions league group stage will be held on Friday, 23rd March 2018 in Cairo, Egypt. KCCA who beat Ethiopia’s Saint George 1-0 in the second leg of their last-32 tie became the first East African side at CAF group stage.
Muhammad Shaban scored the only goal for KCCA against Saint George, two minutes after the break, to help the hosts progress 1-0 on aggregate after a goalless first leg. APR narrowly missed the chance despite a 2-1 win over Djoliba of Mali in Kigali.
Siaka Bagayoko put the visitors ahead before the Rwandese army side equalised through midfielder Djihad Bizimana. APR’s second goal was scored by second half substitute Innocent Nshuti who had replaced another Nshuti entity, Dominique Savio. Djoliba qualified on away goal after 2-2 aggregate results