29 Nov 2018

Township Rollers start their defence of the Mascom Top 8 crown against tournament debutants, Black Forest tonight at Molepolole Sports Complex. The match kicks off at 8 pm.

Both teams go into the quarter-finals, first leg encounter on a mission to redeem themselves after recent unconvincing results. After a great start to the campaign under the now departed coach, Nikola Kavazovic, Rollers appear like a side which has lost ideas upfront.

Since Kavazovic left they have battled to score goals despite having an array of talented attackers such as Tumisang Orebonye, Segolame Boy, Joel Mogorosi and the South African import Kamogelo Matsabu.

They produced a tepid performance to share the spoils (1-1) with visiting Lesotho side, Bantu FC in the CAF Champions League on Tuesday night at Lobatse Sports Complex. Their caretaker coach, Thabo ‘Mahala’ Motang admitted afterwards that they lacked the cutting edge upfront.

Before that they had suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Orapa United a fortnight ago, which consequently ended the ‘Blues’ unbeaten 12 match league run. Therefore, tonight’s encounter offers them a chance to get back to winning ways.

Forest, on the other hand, have faced an even tougher struggle since the beginning of the season. The Mmankgodi-based team has managed just two victories and three draws from 13 matches this season. They continued their poor run with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Gaborone United on Tuesday at Molepolole Sports Complex.

Their biggest problem appears to be the defence, which has conceded 24 goals, the most in the league.

The team’s caretaker coach, Reetsang Letlole, who stepped in after Bakanuki ‘Murphy’ Maseko threw in the towel last week, said conceding cheap goals caused their downfall against GU. His biggest task, therefore, is to shore things at the back.

The second leg encounters will be played next weekend. BDF XI beat Orapa United 1-0, Gaborone United defeated Miscellaneous 1-0 while Jwaneng Galaxy beat Sharps Shooting Stars 2-0 in other first leg encounters last weekend. ENDS