29 Apr 2019

The Orange FA Cup on April 28 descended on the mining town of Jwaneng in a doubleheader, but the results presented a sad day for Jwaneng teams as both were dumped out of the cup in penalty shoot-outs. 

In the first game, Jwaneng Fighters welcomed Police XI and the lower division team managed to contain the Jungle Kings as both teams failed to create any notable scoring chances in the first half. 

Police XI enjoyed more ball possession in the first stanza, but it was clear that possession would not result in goals as the ball was knocked around in mid-park and at the back and not in danger areas. 

The elite league Jungle Kings came back tactically better in the second half and managed to put the underdogs under pressure, but Fighters managed to hold on until the final whistle, throwing the game into the lottery of spot-kicks where the Jungle Kings prevailed 4-3. 

After the game, Police XI gaffer, Mike Sithole indicated concern over failure by his team to convert chances. 

“We failed to create any defining chance in the first half, but I think in the second half the chances started coming and we could even have wrapped the game in regular time, only that we were not sharp enough up front,” he said. 

Sithole said their last league game in which they walloped Sankoyo Bush Bucks 5-0 has lulled his players into thinking that they would have it easy against Fighters. 

“I think the fact that we managed to put five goals past a premier league team gave my boys the impression that we will have it easy against a lower division team in Fighters,” he said. 

Sithole said although he was not happy with the overall performance of his team, he was happy that they proceeded to the semi-finals and would have time to plan better more so because they would be facing bigger teams. 

For his part, Fighters coach, Andrew Tlou said Police XI managed to out-play them because they were always first on the ball and filled up spaces so well. He also attributed their loss to the fact that they did not create enough chances, especially in the first half. 

“So few chances ultimately mean limited chances of winning the game, so we ended up chasing the game and went into the penalties which are just a lottery with no expert,” he said. 

In the second game, it was sweet revenge for BDF XI who also knocked out Jwaneng Galaxy 5-3 on penalties. Galaxy had previously knocked BDF XI out of the Mascom Top 8 cup over two legs, a cup that Galaxy went on to win. 

With the experienced technical bench of Nelson Setshwane and Letang Kgengwenyane, BDF XI produced a brilliant performance in comparison to their previous meets with Galaxy. 

The game lived to many fans’ expectations, especially in the second half when both teams took turns to attack each other. The game heated up in the final minutes when both goalkeepers were time and again called to make saves. 

The disappointed Miguel da Costa of Galaxy indicated in the post-match interview that they lost a good match against a good team. 

“The second half was tight but with chances for both teams. Despite the loss, I am proud of my team, and I think the two forced substitutions we had due to injuries affected us a lot,” he said. 

For his part, BDF XI head coach, Setshwane attributed their win to the hard work they put in their preparations for the past two weeks. 

“My players have been much involved in preparations in the last two weeks and you could see their seriousness. They have been asking a lot of questions on what was required of them and so on,” he said. 

He said the game was tactical as Galaxy used their wings to add up numbers upfront whenever they were in attack. 

After the games, the draw for the semi-finals was conducted and BDF XI was pitted against Township Rollers while Police XI will face Orapa United. ENDS