Miners deliver sparkling diamond final
Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday April 4, 2017 17:24
Former champions, Orapa United and fellow diamond miners, Jwaneng Galaxy defied odds to make it all the way to the final.
It was a final reminiscent of the Coca-Cola Cup meeting which saw ECCO City Greens and BMC contest the final in 2007. Both clubs were largely dependent on parent company, BMC, for survival.
Now 10 years later, a similar scenario played itself out, this time at the Francistown Sports Complex where brothers, Jwaneng Galaxy and Orapa United confronted each other for the P1.2 million cash prize, a glittering trophy, and the bragging rights which go with winning the Top 8.
There was a carnival atmosphere at a venue which is fast becoming the ultimate home of football. And the teams responded with the best possible football, summoning their all to concoct a sumptuous final.
The decider was off to a slow start with Galaxy appearing particularly apprehensive, preferring to let their older brothers retain a lion’s share of the possession. But on the occasional moment when they exchanged passes, the movements were neat and the stroking of the ball was masterful.
The game exploded into life in the second half, with four well-taken goals, which pushed the final into extra time for a second successive edition. Diminutive Morris Ruzivo had the Galaxy fans, in the minority, off their seats just two minutes after the restart and Boitumelo Mafoko appeared to take the game further away from United, clipping an emphatic header to make it 2-0 just after the hour mark. But Orapa rallied back, through Thabang Mosige and the outstanding Tendai Nyumasi, to force the tie into extra time.
It appeared an uphill battle for Galaxy after they were reduced to 10 men, Olebogeng Malebye seeing an underserved red.
But it was Galaxy who did the better running and produced a near perfect display with further goals from Christopher Musonda and Tebogo Sembowa handing them the trophy at the first attempt.
Nyumasi ensured a nervy finish with his brace later on, but Galaxy, comfortably saw out the remainder of the match.
While there were eye-catching displays from a number of individuals in the thrill-a-minute encounter, it was up to one Thabang Sesinyi to justify why he is highly rated on the local scene. And he responded with a doubt-eliminating display, capping off a fine evening with arguably the finest move of the match in the 121st minute.
A finely threaded ball picked Sesinyi on the edges of the left wing and the former Orapa United midfielder, produced an exquisite touch that took him away from his bamboozled marker.
Then the Zebras player retained all the composure to pick the run of Sembowa in the box, who responded with a finish to match the assist.
Last season, Orapa also won the trophy at their first attempt and crucially, the Mascom Top 8 trophy proved it is nomadic by nature as no team has managed to retain it. Gaborone United remain the most successful team with two titles, but never has in the history of the trophy, a team won it back-to-back. In six editions, four different teams have laid their hands on the glittering trophy.
The Saturday final would surely go down in history books as one of Botswana football’s finest moments.