Bokang Lefty Mothoana: The Captain's Armband

Bokang Mothoana

On Wednesday Bokang Mothoana’s side Union Sportive surprisingly lost 2-1 to struggling Kasserine. However Monastir are still sitting pretty at the top of Tunisia’s Ligue 2. With one game to go they have already secured promotion to Ligue 1 and need one more win to clinch the title.

Monastir face US Ben Guerdane this evening in the final game of what has been a long but successful season. Ahead of the match Lefty speaks to us about captaining the Monastir for the first time in a 1-0 win over Olympique du Kef last Sunday and looks ahead to the season closer..

The Captain’s Armband…

The last couple of weeks have been very exciting with the league season winding down to an end. Personally it has been extra special; I was the captain last Sunday in our 1-0 win over Olympique du Kef. It was really a great honour to me to lead the team to victory. It was a proud moment for me and a big one in my career to be a captain in a foreign country. The last time I was a captain was when I was still playing for FC Likhopo back home and it was really a great feeling to do it again.

It has definitely motivated me a lot to work even harder; it shows that I have been doing something correctly. I would agree that it shows that I’m an important player and there is something good I have being doing. It also shows that the team, the management and everybody at Monastir have faith in me to lead the team and that the contribution I have made is appreciated by the club.

I think I did well thanks to the support of my teammates and the management. I would love to do it whenever I’m given a chance.

In the league we are left with one game to play against US Ben Guerdane (today) and we only need a point to be crowned champions. I think we are on track to claim the title, now we have to put all the required effort in order to gain maximum points from the game.

I’m not expecting a very difficult game but we shouldn’t underestimate our opponents because that can be out downfall and it can be a mistake that could cost us the championship.

US Ben Guerdane are not one of the bigger teams in Tunisia but they have some good individuals and they enjoy playing their football in the middle of the park. We have to approach the game like any other game, playing our own style of football and without putting ourselves under pressure. We have to enjoy the game and play with high concentration but most importantly we have to get an early goal.

Lefty’s 2010/11 season

Games: 29

Goals: 2

Ligue 2 Table                                                   

		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	US Monastir	25	13	9	3	35	20	15	48
2	ES Beni Khalled	25	13	7	5	36	27	9	46
3	Stade Gabesien	25	10	7	8	32	26	6	37
4	LPTS Tozeur	25	11	3	11	29	25	4	36
5	AS Djerba	25	9	8	8	20	29	1	35
6	EA Mateur	25	9	8	8	20	3	-3	35
7	CO Transports	25	8	9	8	26	27	-1	33
8	CS Korba	25	9	6	10	30	32	-2	33
9	Kasserine	25	7	10	8	24	25	-1	31
10	Moknine	25	8	6	11	32	34	-2	30
11	Jendouba Sports	25	7	9	9	25	28	-3	30
12	Olympique duKef	25	7	8	10	23	26	-3	29
13	CS Msaken	25	6	9	10	25	31	-6	27
13	US Ben Guerdane	25	4	9	12	20	34	-14	21

Monastir’s Results

CS Msaken 0-0 US Monastir (Sunday, June 19), US Monastir 1-0 Olympique du Kef (Sunday, June 26), Kasserine 2-1 US Monastir (Wednesday, June 29)

·         US Monastir’s remaining game: US Ben Guerdane (Sunday, July 3)