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Botswana: Duel of the Soil Ends in Deadlock
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
14 April 2008
Posted to the web 15 April 2008
Chippa Legodimo
Gaborone
Promotion-chasing Prisons XI and Mochudi Buffaloes shared the spoils in a tense First Division South match played at SSG Ground on Saturday.
The draw took pressure off log leaders Killer Giants as they prepared to take on Gantsi Terrors yesterday. Buffaloes and Prisons XI played in a tense atmosphere after reports that the Mochudi side's officials was caught collecting soil from their opponent's training ground on Friday for witchcraft purposes ahead of the match.
In the early exchanges, players looked unsettled and did not really enjoy the game. As the game progressed, Prisons got their act together and striker Tatenda Mbikiwa caught Buffaloes flat-footed in the 11th minute and forced goalkeeper Ola Tsae to parry a shot on the path of oncoming marksman Kaiser Molapo who made no mistake with a beautiful volley.
After the goal, Prisons became more aggressive, putting their opponents under immense pressure. But as they fought for a second goal, they did not seal the loopholes at the back and Buffaloes exploited the lapse in the 38th minute to draw level. Lanky striker, Star Ramponwane rose above the Prisons' defence to head home to get the equaliser. Buffaloes players then spread soil around in celebration. The equaliser could have come as early as the 18th minute after confusion in the Prisons' defence badly exposed goalkeeper Thabo Ntsiapane. Ramponwane imposed his authority giving Kabelo Kgosiang and Oneeleng 'Six' Radikara serious problems. While trying to fight back into the game, the Mochudi side left gaps in defence and they nearly conceded an own goal in the 23rd minute but goalkeeper Tsae reacted quickly to save the situation.
Towards the half hour mark, Buffaloes started to play with more purpose creating good scoring opportunities which went begging even when scorings looked the easiest option. From the break, Buffaloes continued with their dominance though the wind was pushing against them. For long periods, they put Prisons on the back pedal. As the game came to a close, both teams started to show some signs of desperation and failed to utilise set-pieces because of hastiness. Molapo made a solo run on the left but instead of sending a cross to waiting teammates, he decided to take a shot. It was an agonisingly narrow miss.
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As the league winds up more surprises are expected. Endurance of both individual players and teams is of vital importance. Naughty Boys continue to be among the favourites following their hard-fought 1-0 victory against Masitaoka on Sunday.
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