Rollers, Orapa brace for two-part sequel
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday April 26, 2024 10:31
There are only 12 points to play for, for each team and former Premier League sides, Mogoditshane Fighters, Extension Gunners, and Notwane are all in trouble. Ahead of the start of the season, all three were regarded as favourites for promotion, considering their Premier League experience.
And if their current form is anything to go by, one of them, if not two, will for the first time, slip further down the ladder and into the lower divisions by the end of the season. Fighters sit second from the bottom, a position that guarantees relegation at the end of the season. They only have one point more than Desert Nxau, who are rooted at the bottom of the log. From 18 games, the former back-to-back Premier League champions have only registered three wins and have an inferior goal difference (-17) compared to all the other teams in the league.
They also have the worst defence record in the league, having conceded 33 goals, an average of two goals every match. A real test of character awaits them in the remaining games, considering that besides Black Forest, the remaining three fixtures will be against teams in the top-four bracket.
On Saturday, they will be home to Forest in Mogoditshane. They made things difficult for themselves last weekend when they went down 4-2 to Desert Nxau, who were only tasting their second win of the season. Fighters will now have to produce something out of the ordinary to ensure that besides Forest, they also collect points against Young Stars, UB Hawks, and City Polar, each battling for promotion.
Desert Nxau almost looked condemned to the lower division a few weeks ago, but a famous victory against Fighters last weekend has made the relegation battle captivating. Despite languishing at the bottom for the better part of this season, two from the remaining four matches can still save them from the dreaded axe. However, they face second-placed Santos, who are still chasing the log toppers. Santos will go into tomorrow's encounter as favourites, not only for their strength but also for playing in front of their home supporters. Panic mode has already hit Notwane supporters, and rightly so.
The former Premier League giants can ill-afford to drop any more points in the remaining four games. Tomorrow they face another strong side, Prisons XI, in a make-or-break encounter for the gold and black side. A lot has happened in just a year at Toronto, especially in the technical department. They started the season under the tutelage of Timmy Setswe, who had assisted Thaloba Nthaga the previous season. Nthaga left just before the start of the current campaign to join Premier League side, Masitaoka. However, Setswe's stay was short-lived following a string of poor results and Nthaga returned.
His stay also lasted only a few months. Now, with four games remaining, the burden rests on Thatayamodimo Tebele's shoulders to save the sinking ship. He still has to play Santos (away), Desert Nxau (home), and Black Forest (away). They are only two points away from the relegation position (15th). Extension Gunners are also facing the same problem as Notwane. For a team of their calibre, they performed badly in their first season in the lower division after so many years in the elite league. The Peleng giants have had their fair share of technical glitches.
They started the season under the guidance of Daniel Nare and things took a turn when reports of divisions within the executive committee emerged. The appointment of Stanley Mwaanga as the assistant coach without the knowledge of Nare created problems, the newly acquired sponsor left, and recently, Nare also quit. Mwaanga has since taken over as the head coach.
Last weekend, they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Young Stars. Tomorrow, they take on Mochudi Centre Chiefs, wounded from a four-point docking. Any further negative result could see Gunners drop to position 14 by the end of the weekend. Chiefs are oozing with confidence after beating Notwane last weekend. Meanwhile, Young Stars could all but seal their first-ever promotion to the elite league this weekend. The log leaders take on UB Hawks at the SSG ground on Sunday. If they win and Union Flamengo Santos lose to Tlokweng United, Young Stars' automatic promotion will be confirmed at the weekend. The rest of the pack will then battle for the play-off spot in the remaining games.