When the referee blew the final whistle on Saturday at Otse Police College, the despair was written all over the faces of miscellaneous players and the technical staff.
The dejected Serowe side had hoped to defeat Police XI who are only fighting for a top eight spot but were rather humiliated by four goals to two. The results mean that Miscellaneous need the luck of God because their destiny is not in their own hands at anymore.
There is only one match left and they have 23 points, just one behind other fellow strugglers, Motlakase and Tasc.
What is interesting is the fact that Miscellaneous will be playing Tasc over the weekend while Motlakase will be engaging Nico United in Selibe Phikwe. For Miscellaneous to survive, Motlakase have to lose provided Miscellaneous picks up maximum points in their game against Tasc.
After being defeated by Police XI, Miscellaneous coach, Teenage Mpote, was disappointed with the results, saying they have only themselves to blame. “If Police XI had outsmarted us, I would understand but we matched them pound for pound and missed a lot of scoring chances. Even the goals we conceded leave a lot to be desired. Imagine, in one of the goals our player tried to pass the ball to the goalkeeper but was intercepted by Police XI player who did not waste the chance. I am really disappointed with the results and we should have done better,” he said. It will be a big blow to the Central District if Miscellaneous is relegated because they got promoted last season after a more than twenty-year hiatus in the lower divisions.
Before being promoted, the Serowe side struggled to get automatic promotion because they normally lost out at the last hurdle and, in some instances, had to lose the promotion in the boardroom.
Motlakase on the other hand eased their relegation worries after walloping Tafic by three goals without reply but, unlike Miscellaneous, their survival is in their own hands.
They are assured of survival if they beat Nico, while the match does not mean much to Nico because they are already assured of a top eight spot. Also there is a possibility of terrible news in the Central District because both Motlakse and Miscellaneous can be relegated at the same time.
This is possible if Francistown side, Tasc, win and Motlakase lose to Nico.
On the other hand, Mochudi Centre Chiefs striker, Moemedi ‘Jomo” Moatlhaping, extended his tally to 28 by scoring two goals over the weekend when his team beat Black Peril 6-1 on Saturday.
This means Moatlhaping is almost assured of the top scoring award that was won by Terrence Mandaza last season.
