Top 8 final: Who wants it more?
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Friday February 28, 2014 13:56
Speaking ahead of what is expected to be a closely contested affair, Ndlovu could not over emphasise the need to grab the cup.
“We obviously want to win this cup having gone this far. The preparations for this match were nothing special from what we have been doing. We treat every game seriously,” Ndlovu said. He has said the omission of central defender Oscar Ncenga from the game against Uniao Flamengo Santos at SSKB last Sunday was purely to ensure he was available for tomorrow night’s final. Rollers won the match 1-0.
In his absence, Ncenga’s usual central defensive partner Leutlwetse Tshireletso played alongside Pako Ketimilwe. Ndlovu could not risk Ncenga getting another yellow card, which would have meant missing tomorrow’s titanic clash. Ncenga picked up a yellow card in the second leg of the Mascom Top 8 semifinal against rivals Gaborone United (GU).
“Oscar is a key player and if we had used him against Santos and he picked up a card in the game, we were going to miss him for this game so we decided to save him,” Ndlovu told Mmegi Sport yesterday.
Captain Sekhana Koko was also rested but will be available for tomorrow’s game.
Rollers have been boosted by the reversal of midfielder, Maano Ditshupo’s red card. The red card was reversed on Monday with the referee admitting the mistake. “We are happy that he (Ditshupo) will be available for this game. He is one of our key players,” Ndlovu said.
Rollers go into the match with a clean bill of health except for midfielder Lawrence Majawa who is carrying a knock. He is expected to go for a late fitness test to determine whether he can be part of the match. Rollers were the first team to win the competition two years ago before GU clinched it last year.
BDF XI coach, Elijah Chikwanda is excited to be at this stage of the cup and pointed out that his players were equally delighted to be playing in the final.
He is not worried that they have not beaten Rollers in the two matches they played in the league this season. In fact, he told Mmegi Sport that the two matches helped them study Rollers and they know what to expect in this encounter.
BDF XI will be without two influential attackers, Ofentse Mmipi and Lesego Lubinda, who are out injured. Striker Saukani Zulu is expected to recover in time for the game after picking up a knock in the game against Nico United a fortnight ago. “I wish them a quick recovery so that they can join the team soon. We have been playing without some players for some time now because of injuries except for Lubinda who only picked up an injury recently,” Chikwanda said.
Kick-off is 8pm.