10 Jan 2018

Jwaneng Galaxy captain, Boitumelo Mafoko says his team is ready to beat Township Rollers and reach to back-to-back finals of the Mascom Top 8 tournament.

Defending Top 8 champions, Galaxy were paired against the in-form Rollers over two legs in the semi-final to be played on weekends of January 27-28 and February 3-4 respectively.

The draw held at Gaborone bus rank on January 9 also pitted Top 8 record champions, Gaborone United against 2016 winners, Orapa United.

In an interview immediately after the draw, Mafoko who scored in last year’s 4-3 final victory over United, said he welcomed the draw.

“I was expecting Galaxy to be drawn against any of the teams left in the competition. We are playing Township Rollers, they are a team with complete players, many quality and energetic players. But we are ready for them. I am happy with the draw,” said the former Rollers midfielder nicknamed, Navara.

However, Mafoko noted that it would be a tall order for the Jwaneng side to dispatch the country’s most successful club from the lucrative competition.

“We are talking about Rollers, which is currently top of the BTC Premiership without losing a single match. They have a lot of motivation and energy. It is not going to be easy against them. It is going to be a very tough match,” he said.

The 37-year-old player, who reversed his initial decision to retire from professional football at the end of last season, pointed out that the outcome of the tie would depend on how motivated Galaxy players would be to beat Rollers. 

He explained that their objective was to make history by becoming the first team to successfully defend the Top 8 trophy.

“Our intention as Galaxy family, is to make history by retaining this cup. We are close to achieving that but it is not going to be easy. It is going to be tough and we will have to work hard to achieve that,” he said.

Galaxy will be at home in the first leg of the first semi-final while Orapa will be hosts in the other semi-final. ENDS