Of late, teams that have made tremendous improvement are undoubtedly Ecco City Green and Notwane.
Ecco City is seriously fighting for honours while Notwane are surely moving away from the relegation zone.
Obviously, there are those players who have been engineering their teams’ success.
For Ecco City Green, it is none other than upcoming striker, Bonolo Fraser, while, for Notwane, it has been their youthful goalkeeper, Botlhe Moralo.
Fraser has, to date, scored crucial goals and even achieved an incredible seven goals in three games, a record. If his performance is anything to go by, Ecco City would continue riding high and might even challenge for top honours.
It did not come as a surprise when national coach Stanley Tshosane called him to camp recently.
Fraser once played for the national Under 20 and did well at last year’s COSAFA youth tournament in Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Moralo is seriously knocking on the Zebras doors and it is only a matter of time before he is given a run. Although he has never played for the national youth teams, that seems not to deter him.
The youthful goalkeeper is already proving to be a menace to those who have been at the helm of the national team, like Noah Maposa. Moralo has been in scintillating form of late leading his team to important victories against Rollers, BMC and an invaluable point against Gunners.
His reading of the game and positioning are awesome and it’s not easy to beat him in one-on-one situation that requires reflexes.
Although he needs to improve on his agility, Notwane have found a germ. Since making his debut in the Premier League in last year’s Coca Cola Cup, he has not looked back.
The advantage he holds lies in his height, which is valuable for all goalkeepers.
On the other hand, the race for individual prizes in the be-Mobile Premier League will intensify until the end of the season. This is because the prizes have been reviewed and drastically increased.
The Player of the Season will pocket P50 000, compared to last year’s price of P10 000.
Green Boot Player or Top Goal Scorer will pocket P25 000 while last season it was P5 000.
A new category for Players’ Player of the Season has also been introduced and the player will walk away with P25 000.
With Centre Chiefs and Gaborone United topping the charts to date, most awards might come from the two teams.
For Top Goal Scorer, it is Nico United’s Master Masitara who is riding on the crest of a wave and might walk away with the price if he keeps his momentum.
Although other players, like Moemedi Moatlhaping, Terrence Mandaza and Richard Mwanza, are behind him, he is likely to defend his title. For Player of the Season, Pontsho Moloi and Ronald Chikomo are currently the front runners.
Of course, there are others who might emerge but Moloi and Chikomo have been the driving forces behind their teams’ successes.
With Ecco City, BDF XI and Township Rollers still having mathematical chances of winning the league, their players might pull a surprise at the last minute.
Less than 10 games are left before the season ends.
