03 Nov 2019

A solitary strike by second half substitute, Ookeditse Oagile ensured maximum points for Masitaoka away to Jwaneng Fighters on Saturday.

While it was sweet victory for Maja Tlhaga, it was a pile of misery for Fighters, who continue to struggle at the basement of the log standings.

After missing transition to the upper division through promotional play-offs last season, many expected Fighters to be one of the teams to look to in the battle for the first division south championship this season, but the opposite has been true.

The Jwaneng lads continue to languish at the bottom and have turned into donors of points to their peers, but despite their current sorry status, Fighters coach and former player, Boitumelo Mafoko assured their fans that it was still too early to panic.

“We may be struggling now, but we are confident that we will soon improve and start collecting points.

The problem is that we do not have the players that we had last season due to work commitments.

They are held up most of the time and we are forced to use inexperienced ‘small boys’ most of the time,” he said.

Mafoko said even the inexperienced boys he normally resorted to were not always available, such that he often worked with different players in midweek training, which he said hampered proper planning.

He however, said there was no pressure on him and his technical bench, especially looking at the fact that they were not far behind on points from the teams above them.

He said Masitaoka managed to beat them because they (Masitaoka) had a lot of experienced players.

For his part, Masitaoka coach, Nelson Olebile indicated that the victory was necessary for his team to build confidence after losing by a solitary goal to log leaders, Mogoditshane Fighters in their last game.

“We did not have a good game in terms of overall play, but when you come from a loss and want to build confidence, any play is welcome as long as it brings results, no matter how scrappy it is.

It’s a positive result, especially when you play away, and we can work on the rest later,” he said.

Olebile said the home side frustrated them in the first half until they changed formations and launched more attacks.

“They got tired, we capitalised on that and got our goal,” he said.

His only worry he said, was lack of consistency on the part of his boys as they continued to blow hot and cold.

“We win a game and lose the next, then win the other, so we need to build consistency and momentum in terms of wining and this will also build our confidence and give us confidence that we can challenge for the league honours,” he said.

He also said they were still very much among the teams with a chance to win the championship.

The result leaves Jwaneng Fighters still rooted at the bottom of the log with four points from eight games, while Masitaoka occupy the third spot with 14 points from as many games - only four points behind log leaders, Mogoditshane Fighters. ENDS