Carnival atmosphere missing ahead of Botswana derby
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Thursday April 13, 2017 13:14
The two giants meet this Saturday night in a BTC Premiership match at the National Stadium. Kick off is at 8pm.
Definitely the most dominant sides in the league for the last 10 years, a fierce rivalry has developed between the two sides making their clashes some of the most anticipated in the season.
In the last 10 seasons, Rollers and Chiefs have won the league four times each, creating an exciting rivalry, which was at sometimes however characterised by nasty incidents.
This time around, at a crucial time of the season, the fixture has failed to spark any excitement and anxiety for football lovers. The two sides are currently facing contrasting fortunes unlike in the past seasons when they would normally be battling for the number one spot.
While Rollers sit at the top and challenging for the title, Chiefs are further down still battling to finish in the top eight bracket. As things stand, 18 points separate the two sides with an average of eight games left.
Despite the difference in points, Saturday’s match means a lot to both sides not only for pride but could also have a lot of bearing on the log standings at the end of the season. Rollers face the danger of losing top position to Jwaneng Galaxy if they drop points.
Chiefs on the other hand can no longer afford to lose points as they are out of the top eight bracket.
Magosi have been facing difficult times with players boycotting training for close to two weeks. They are said to be back hard at training though ahead of the match.
Against odds, Chiefs registered a 3-2 victory in the first round with goals from Dirang Moloi, Remmington Masuku and Thatayaone Ramatlapeng.
Ramatlapeng is expected to get the nod in the starting line up again after his man of the match performance against Gaborone United last Sunday.
Chiefs coach, Bongani Mafu admitted it is a tricky game but said they will approach it in the best possible way and see what happens.
Rollers, despite being at the summit of the league table, have been blowing hot and cold.
They hit a stalemate in the last matches and saw Galaxy equal them on points. Assistant coach, Thabo Motang said they are worried about dropping points at this crucial time of the season.
He said a game against Chiefs could never be the same as others despite the situation they have been going through.
“Chiefs are like a sleeping cobra. You cannot approach like any other snake and you have to be prepared because you do not know what to expect.
Even the first round they managed to pull a victory against us despite their situations and we treated that as a learning curve.”