Top sides test grit for pre-season friendlies

Kabelo Boranabi | Wednesday July 30, 2025 06:00

Mochudi Centre Chiefs have been amongst the busiest during the off-season, featuring in three notable friendly matches that signalled a renewed intent.

Magosi suffered narrow 1–0 defeats to North West University in Gaborone and South African second-tier outfit Orbit College FC in Rustenburg over the weekend.

Despite the scorelines, the Kgatleng giants have drawn positives from the performances, describing the outings as critical for match fitness and tactical clarity.

Chiefs were also part of a four-team pre-season tournament hosted at Olympia Park in South Africa. They went down 1–0 to Orbit College in the semi-finals before losing 2–1 to domestic rivals Jwaneng Galaxy in the third-place playoff.

That tournament also featured Jwaneng Galaxy, who endured a bruising 6–0 defeat to hosts Marumo Gallants for their opening match.

The Galaxy Stars, currently in transition under newly-appointed head coach Sean Connor, showed character to bounce back and defeat Chiefs in the bronze medal match.

Closer to home, record champions Township Rollers hosted Tonota FC in a training fixture at Lekidi Football Centre. Rollers showed ruthless form, brushing aside their opponents in two consecutive games with 5–0 and 4–0 scorelines.

The matches allowed the Blues technical team to experiment with combinations and give minutes to several fringe players.

While results in pre-season friendlies often take a backseat to performance and fitness, the competitive tone of the fixtures reflects the growing intensity ahead of the 2025–2026 FNB Premiership season.

Chiefs, who are currently working through a management restructure aimed at shifting towards a corporate ownership model, appear to be laying solid foundations ahead of what is expected to be a pivotal season.

Galaxy, on the other hand, are using their regional excursions to build cohesion and match sharpness with one eye on continental competition.

With less than a month before the league whistle blows, the groundwork is being laid. Though the friendly scoreboards may fade into the background, the lessons drawn could prove decisive when the real battles begin.