The first round of the Botswana Premier League (BPL) 2022 / 23 season came to an end this past weekend with some interesting outcomes at each end of the league log standings.
At the top of the log, in-form Jwaneng Galaxy caught up with league leaders Gaborone United (GU). After the GU played a 1 – 1 draw with Eleven Angels on Saturday, the former pummeled strugglers Prisons XI 7 – 0 at Lobatse Sports Complex on Sunday.
The two teams are now sitting on 37 points, with GU holding on to first position through a better goal difference. Both teams are yet to lose a game this season. They have both registered 11 wins and 4 draws from the 15 games played.
While Galaxy have scored a total of 38 goals to GU’s 35 goals, the latter has conceded less goals. The Red side of Gaborone has been very stingy at the back, letting in 4 goals only from 15 games. Galaxy on the other hand has conceded 12 goals.
Still in the race for the league title, Galaxy’s sister team Orapa United played to a 1 – 1 draw with Township Rollers to keep within the touching distance of the top two teams.
‘The Ostriches,’ as Orapa United is affectionately called, have accumulated 34 points from their first 15 outings and are just three points behind the log leaders. While they have registered an equal number of wins as the top two teams, they have however lost three games and drawn one.
For Rollers, the draw against Orapa means they keep their position in the top four. Having amassed 28 points from 15 games, Popa is just nine points behind the log leaders. Interestingly, Popa has only lost 1 game so far this season. They have won seven (7) games and drawn another seven (7).
Meanwhile, things got a little interesting in the relegation zone as bottom of the log Holy Ghost finally registered its first win of the season. ‘The Holy Boys’ ghosted 1 – 0 past fellow strugglers Mogoditshane Fighters to ignite their bid for survival.
Though still stuck at the bottom of the league standings, Holy Ghost is just 3 and 4 points behind Extension Gunners and Prisons XI respectively. It also means they are six points behind Fighters who occupy the 13th spot, the last survival position in the league log.
Elsewhere, Security Systems increased Extension Gunners’ woes as they hammered them 3 – 0 at the National Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was an opportunity lost for Gunners as a win would have lifted them above Fighters and out of the bottom three positions.
However, with just a mere three points separating them and Fighters, Gunners will no doubt fancy their chances of survival. Having survived relegation numerous times in the past, Gunners will have to tap into their survival knowledge to navigate its own route to safety.
