Kabelano Cup draw today

TSHEPO MOLWANE
Staff Writer | Tuesday June 17, 2008 00:00

 

The one-day event will take place on June 28 at the National Stadium in Gaborone. Four teams: Notwane, Mochudi Centre Chiefs, ECCO City Greens and Township Rollers will battle in out in what promises to be another thrilling spectacle.

Notwane are the defending champions after beating Mochudi Centre Chiefs 3-1 after extra-time. Zambian marksman Langson Sichola scored a brace with Barnes Radipotsane getting the other goal to send Magosi home empty-handed. Once again, Toronto are favourites to go all the way but this time around, they might be faced with tough resistance from the other three sides.

Chiefs' communications officer Clifford Mogomotsi told Mmegi Sport yesterday that he expects this year's event to be different but they are the team to beat.

'It would be nice to avoid Rollers in the morning and meet with them later in the day (final). Everybody knows that whenever we play against Rollers, the game leaves everybody on the edge of their seats,' he said. Mogomotsi asserted that this does not mean that they do not respect Notwane and ECCO City Greens. Chiefs returned to training yesterday to prepare for the big day. Missing from the training were national team players who are preparing for the away clash against Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Sunday.

In this year's Kabelano event, all eyes will be on the Kgatleng giants as they have finished the season without a loss in 30 games.

'We would like to have one or two new faces during the games but that would depend on whether their clubs release them in time,' Mogomotsi said.

Rollers' spokesperson, Molatlhegi Mangole believes that if they plan well for the first game, they stand a chance of winning the cup. 'At Rollers, we are not scared of any team. We do not have problems picking any team at the draw. But honestly, my wish is to play Chiefs in the final as they have been doing well. We can also learn a lot from them and see if we are ready for the new season,' he said. Just like Mogomotsi, the Rollers' spokesman is confident that they will have new faces on the day. 

Chiefs met Rollers in the second semi-final last year and Magosi won after post-match penalty shootouts. It was goalkeeper Lesego 'Chokri' Moeng who slipped at a crucial moment before kicking his penalty wide off Noah Maposa's goal to hand Magosi victory.

The draw starts at 4.30pm.