Galaxy pay the price for missed chances
Kabelo Boranabi | Tuesday September 15, 2026 09:59
The current Orange FA Cup champions paid the price for a night of missed chances against ASPL 2000 of Mauritius.
Galaxy dominated the game for long periods at the National Stadium on Saturday evening.
However, they were eventually punished when substitute, Kewell Leclerc, struck in the 73rd minute to hand ASPL a 1-0 victory and a 2-1 aggregate win in the preliminary round.
“It is not the result that we wanted. You could say it was the tactical discipline, but there is nothing wrong with that. You can train everything, but scoring is the most difficult thing to train, and we saw that here today,” Minnaert said after the match.
“It is not like we created one good chance. We created many chances, and sometimes it is difficult just to put it in. It is not a question of luck, but sometimes it is just missing. Today the ball was not getting in the net.”
The defeat was especially painful for Galaxy because they had controlled virtually the entire first half, with ASPL content to sit deep and absorb pressure.
Galaxy dictated the tempo in the opening stages but initially struggled to turn their possession into clear-cut opportunities. As the half progressed, however, the hosts began finding openings and created several promising chances without finding the finishing touch.
ASPL offered almost nothing going forward in the opening 45 minutes. The Mauritian side failed to register a shot on target and did not win a corner, while Galaxy continued to probe in search of the breakthrough.
At half-time, the aggregate score remained 1-1, leaving Galaxy 45 minutes to find the goal that would have taken them into the next round.
But ASPL's defensive strategy remained unchanged after the restart. The visitors made their first change in the 53rd minute, replacing Bakary Sawaneh with James Manique.
Eight minutes later, they made a double substitution, with James Pasnin making way for Kewell Leclerc while Jean-Daniel Israel was replaced by Jean Roussety. Galaxy, meanwhile, resisted making changes as they continued to dominate possession and search for a way through the Mauritian defence.
It was ASPL, however, who produced the decisive moment. Leclerc, introduced from the bench, struck in the 73rd minute to stun Galaxy and put the visitors within touching distance of the next round.
The goal turned the match on its head. Galaxy were suddenly required to score twice merely to overturn the deficit on the night and keep their continental campaign alive.
Minnaert responded seven minutes later by sending on Kgotso Radithongwa for defender Larona Modisaemang. The change was a clear indication that Galaxy were gambling everything on finding an equaliser. Radithongwa's introduction gave the hosts an additional attacking outlet, but ASPL now had an even greater incentive to retreat and protect their advantage.
Galaxy threw men forward in the closing stages but were repeatedly denied. ASPL goalkeeper Kenny Hanley Alcide produced a series of crucial saves as Galaxy desperately searched for a way back into the tie.
His performance earned him the Man of the Match award and ensured that the Mauritian side survived the late onslaught.
By the fifth minute of stoppage time, Galaxy were still pushing for an equaliser, but the visitors held firm to secure one of the biggest results in the tie. Minnaert was left to rue what he believed was a decisive failure to convert territorial dominance into goals.
“They had only one chance, but we came over a hundred times and still failed to score. Sometimes it is like that,” he said. “The biggest disappointment in my career as a coach is not that the other team was better; it is just that we missed chances.”
The coach also pointed to concentration lapses across the two legs. “We had 180 minutes against them and dominated 175 minutes of that, and twice, for one minute in both games, we lost concentration and conceded two goals.”
The first leg in Mauritius had ended 1-1, with Olebogeng Ramotse putting Galaxy ahead before Stewel Beeharry equalised for ASPL.
That result had left the tie delicately poised ahead of the return match, but Galaxy's inability to score at home ultimately proved decisive.
Their elimination means both local representatives in the CAF inter-club competitions have fallen at the preliminary stage. Gaborone United (GU) suffered a similar fate in the CAF Champions League, although their elimination came against Tanzanian giants Young Africans.
GU had been left frustrated after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser in the first leg in Gaborone, despite leading for most of the match. They subsequently travelled to Tanzania needing a positive result but lost 2-1, going out 3-2 on aggregate.
The teams:
Jwaneng Galaxy: Sekhoane Moerane, Larona Modisaeman (Kgotso Radithongwa), Tebogo Kopelang, Thabo Leinanyane, Botsile Sakana, Kutlwelo Mpolokang, Olebogeng Ramotse, Gift Moyo, Gilbert Mugisha, Katlego Makgwa, Boikobo Rannyena
ASPL 2000: Kenny Hanley Alcide, Christopher Bazerque, Messou Bosson, Kouassi Kouame, James Pasnin (Kewell Leclerc), Martins Ndzong, Junior Norgen Marday, Dany Samuel Beeharry, Jean-Daniel Israel (Jean Roussety), Bakary Sawaneh (James Manique)
Galaxy 0 ASPL 1 (Leclerc 73rd)