Title chase turns into three-horse race
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday February 10, 2024 08:57
According to the Botswana Football League schedule, it is week 16 in business, although some teams will be playing their 15th game of the season.
Record league champions, Township Rollers, are at the top, but holders Jwaneng Galaxy and Gaborone United (GU) are just two and three points behind, respectively. It is shaping up to be a three-horse race at the mid-point. Popa should be concerned as Galaxy have played two games less.
The leaders watched from a distance as the chasers, Galaxy and GU, played to a 0-0 draw in midweek. Galaxy missed a chance to go top as GU moved three points behind Rollers. It was an entertaining contest, but the two early contenders could not find the winner. GU's head coach, Pontsho Moloi, has said his side will chase until the finish line.
'We will keep on playing. We are not far from the two guys in front of us. The league is still young, we are still there, and we will keep on playing until we get things right and challenge for the league with the two guys in front of us,' Moloi told MmegiSport after the Galaxy tie. The defending champions are remaining calm as the team's coach, Morena Ramoreboli, admits it will be a tough assignment to win the championship back-to-back. 'The league is very competitive, and as much as we want to win every game, we have to be honest; it is not going to happen. We will play some draws (and) lose some.
This was one of the games where I felt it was very difficult to win, but we managed to get a point. We will go back to the drawing board and try to be better. I do not think we should be worried about being number one now. We should be worried about collecting points and getting to a point where we can start talking about the championship,' Ramoreboli said.
It is a tougher battle at the bottom as many as seven teams are in contention for relegation. The quartet of Holy Ghost, Police XI, Morupule Wanderers, and Sua Flamingoes are level on 14 points each and a point above the relegation zone, occupying positions 10 to 13. VTM FC and Eleven Angels have 13 points each in the relegation spots, lying just a point above bottom-placed Nico United.
The slight margins set the scene for a fierce battle to avoid the chop in the remaining half of the season. It is simmering both at the top and the bottom, with this weekend's clashes expected to produce sparks. VTM and Holy Ghost are in a battle at the bottom at the VTM Arena on Saturday afternoon as BDF XI welcome Orapa United at the Lobatse Sports Complex.
Sua Flamingoes will take the long journey to take on Jwaneng Galaxy at the Galaxy Stadium, while Nico United and Matebele face off at the Sam Sono Stadium. On Sunday afternoon, Security Systems take on Rollers at the National Stadium as Dinaledi Academy Stadium host Masitaoka FC and Eleven Angels. Morupule Wanderers face a visit from Police XI at the Palapye Stadium while GU and TAFIC have a weekend off due to the latter's involvement in the Orange FA Cup. All the games kick off at 4pm.