For long, Mapantsula have looked safe with no real possibility that they might have to dig into their legendary bag of survival tricks to avoid their usual last day relegation antics. However, things started going wrong for the Lobatse side after they were exposed and humiliated by the punch-bags, Township Rollers, 4-1 in a highly attended first round game. Since then, Gunners have been struggling to regain their poise. They have fared badly and in some matches they lost and drew after leading 2-0.
Currently, Gunners are sitting on the 12th spot with 22 points, seven points clear from the bottom-placed Prisons XI. If teams below Gunners like TASC, FC Satmos and TASC start picking points in the remaining 10 games, then Gunners could find themselves having to fight the dreaded axe again, come the end of the season. Since 1996, Gunners have been fighting relegation battles every season. In some years, they avoided the chop by a whisker. The Lobatse giants are now a far cry from the formidable side that clinched the league title on three consecutive seasons between 1992- 1994. To compound matters, the Gunners' management has been hit by continuous infighting and changing of coaches in acrimonious circumstances.
