The lucrative Coca-Cola faces a historic look after weekend semi-finals results. The finals of the tournament will seek Palapye based side, Motlakase sweating it out with Lobatse side, Extension Gunners.
Motlakase qualified for the finals for the first time and might pull a surprise by winning it. What is surprising however for Motlakse is that they are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the league.
There is a possibility that they might win the tournament and then relegate to the lower division.
The first time the Coca-Cola tournament had a real historic look was in 1997 when a first division side, Mokgosi Young Fighters of Ramotswa qualified for the finals and lost to Notwane after putting up a brave face. Extension Gunners on the other hand won the inaugural tournament in 1992 and appeared twice in the finals only to end on the losing side. It would indeed be a remarkable for Gunners to win it after waiting for a period of almost twenty years. Motlakase on the other hand is the team that has sent shockwaves across the sports fraternity by going all the way to the finals.
The officials of the team have even made it clear that qualifying for the finals has taken them by surprise. The match that actually shocked many people was against, entertaining, Gabane side, Uniao Flamengo Santos in the semifinals. Motlakase won it 4-2 on penalties after both teams tied to a one all draw. Generally, Motlakase are using players that are relatively unknown among soccer enthusiasts in Botswana. The prominent player in the team is Barulaganye Bolofete who is one of the eldest in the Premier League. He has been playing in the elite league for more than 12 years and his experience has been a marvel to watch. Against Santos on Saturday, coach Oris ‘Boyo’ Radipotsane seemed to have studied his opponents so well. Santos is reknown as a team of knocking the ball around just from the back, but Motlakase did not give them that chance. The goal scorer for Motlakase, on Saturday, Goareng Supang was once again a marvel to watch especially with his runs on the wings. For Santos it was s bitter pillow for them to swallow because they had a full strength squad except their attacking midfielder, Godfrey Ngele who was on suspension. Just before the match, Santos left the nation in shock after they refused to release their players for the national under 23 All Africa match against Zimbabwe on Friday. Botswana drew the encounter by two goals and Santos players form integral part of the team.
