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Botswana: Tasc Promise to Make Friday Good
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The Voice (Francistown)
25 March 2008
Posted to the web 25 March 2008
Ntjidzi Smarts
Francistown
League success may mathematically be out of reach for Tasc but the battle lines have been drawn against them and their army brothers BDF XI in a quest to improve their log standings. The two teams will engage in a battle of supremacy on Good Friday at the Francistown Stadium.
Tasc will battle it out with BDF still oozing with confidence from a 2-1 win over Police XI last weekend. Since the second round kicked off, Tasc have been blowing hot and cold and are now placed on sixth spot, two places down from their best position of fourth when the first round ended. Before last week's victory the team suffered a shocking 3-1 defeat at the hands of city rivals Ecco City Greens and had previously beaten Mogoditshane Fighters 1-0.
Though the team has been failing to maintain consistency, the PRO, Jonas Ikgopoleng, has sent out a stern warning to BDF XI that they are going to come into the game with guns blazing and make Friday good for their fans. Last season, the two teams played to a draw before Tasc lost 2-0 to BDF in the second leg and in the last round of this season they turned the tables and beat BDF. Despite the fact that their record against BDF does not cast it in stone that they might win the fixture, Ikgopoleng is very optimistic that his charges will taste sweet victory. "We have failed to maintain consistency because of our players work commitments and suspensions which mean we constantly had to change combinations so I am glad that Godfrey Opelo and Teenage Malezimba are back. I can confidently say BDF will be a closed chapter because we are playing in our own backyard."
Tasc may find the going tough against BDF because their strikers, Joseph Chanda and Terence Mandaza, have been struggling to find the back of the net lately. New signing Chanda, who made a name for himself at first division outfit GNT, is still to score his first Premier League goal. Ikgopoleng will also rely on the striking prowess of Mandaza who has so far scored ten goals for the team and is among the three top goal scorers in the league this season but has slumped in the recent games. "Quite contrary, Mandaza has not dropped form; it is just that expectations from the fans to score in each game make it look like he has fallen. In actual fact, he is still dangerous on the ball. With Chanda, however, he is still struggling. When we signed him we wanted to use him behind the strikers because that is where he is efficient but the departure of Mokgathi has turned around the team. We are now forced to use Chanda in front with Mandaza."
Tasc's defence has also been weakened by the departure of Ernest Amos who joined Mokgathi Mokgathi at BDF XI. The team has been conceding goals in almost all their games.
Though the Tongo boys feel they have found a replacement for Amos in 24- year-old Moroka Moroka from Somerset Young Fighters, the young lad has found Amos' shoes too big to fill in defence. "Moroka is an exceptionally good player; you should consider he has never played in the premier league before but I am satisfied with his play and has executed Amos' role really well. I believe he will develop with time and will be the player to look out for."
On the other hand, BDF XI will be looking for redemption after posting a succession of bad results over the past weekends. The team lost 1-0 to Mogoditshane Fighters and Boteti Young Fighters just recently. BDF's spokesperson, Spencer Kesebonye, said they would come fully prepared to beat Tasc on Friday. He explained that it would be humiliating to suffer successive defeats at the hands of their nemesis, and to register yet another loss in the premier league. "We have displayed good football on the pitch so it is high time we start winning games. We can not say we are playing well if the results are not coming our way."
Kesebonye firmly believes the acquisition of Amos and Mokgathi may come in handy in the classic fixture on Friday. "I think we have weakened Tasc a bit by taking Amos and Mokgathi. Those two were very influential players for our opponents, and I believe this time around lady luck will smile on us because she had turned away from us for a while now."
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Kick off is at 4pm and fans have been urged to attend the game in large numbers.
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