Giants clash in Top 8 semis
Chakalisa Dube | Friday January 24, 2014 15:20
The battle of Gaborone returns this Saturday when Township Rollers and defending champions, Gaborone United (GU) clash in Molepolole in the first leg of the semi-final of the Mascom Top Eight. A capacity crowd is expected to watch the duel between the two Gaborone giants.
Both Rollers and Gaborone United enter tomorrow’s clash with contrasting fortunes on the league front. Rollers lead the be MOBILE Premier League while David Bright’s GU are struggling in fourth place.
However, form has proved less credible when it comes to determining the winner in a derby match. The two sides meet in the semi-final for the third time in three seasons.
Rollers won the first semi-final 4-2 on aggregate on their way to lifting the trophy. GU got ample revenge the next year by cruising 6-3 on aggregate past Rollers en-route to winning the tournament.
Both sides know that the winner of the semi-final will have good prospects of lifting the cup. A loss for Bright may mean that the club may end the season empty handed.
His Rollers rival, Madinda Ndlovu, will be eager to make sure that he outsmarts GU and win the cup that has eluded him twice when he was at Mochudi Centre Chiefs.
The men to watch in the GU line-up include Tebogo Semobowa, Alphonse Modisaotsile and defender Gaopatwe Seosenyeng, while Rollers will depend on the likes of Manqoba Ngwenya and Sekhana Koko for victory.
The two players who might be key tomorrow are Ronald Chikomo for GU and Jerome Louis for Rollers. Chikomo has the impetus and zeal to win the match for Bright.
He has been in good form since the competition began, creating goals and scoring twice.
At Rollers, Louis has been lethal in the league and the cup. He is currently the top striker in the cup with three goals. There is no doubt that the Namibian who had a slow start to the season will be eager to increase his tally tomorrow.
Meanwhile in other first leg semi-final, army side, BDF XI hosts Nico United at SSKB on Sunday.
The soldiers are currently short of confidence after their loss against Township Rollers in the league. The defeat compounded the agony of BDF XI who were still reeling from the decision of soccer authorities to dock them six points as punishment for dragging a football dispute to court. Their opponents tomorrow, Nico are in confident mood following a 1-0 victory over Orapa United in the league last weekend.
BDF XI are last season’s finalists, while Nico’s highest achievement in the cup is reaching the last four.