Jomo Moatlhaping struck twice to lead Premier League rookies Sharps Shooting Stars to the inaugural Gaborone Mayor’s Cup title.
The former Zebras frontman netted a goal each half as his side beat a makeshift Mochudi Centre Chiefs team 2ÔÇô0 in the finals to get their first silverware of the season.
Sharps, who had easily dispatched Extension Gunners 3ÔÇô0 in the semi-finals, showed from the onset they meant business as they relentlessly attacked Magosi.
They finally broke the deadlock on the 33rd minute when Moatlhaping headed past Kenanao Neo after some neat footwork and a delightful cross from his captain Monageng Thaele.
Coach Keitumetse Pio Paul’s charges then put the result beyond doubt on the 91st minute when the same Moatlhaping tapped in Sharps’ insurance goal.
For their efforts, Sharps pocketed a cool P200 000, a trophy and gold medals, while Chiefs had to do with a P100 000 prize money and silver medals.
Speaking in an interview after the game, Paul said while the win was welcome, the tournament had shown his team was still far from where he wants it to be when the league season resumes.
According to Paul, he still needed at least six more players with Premier League experience to complement his current squad and make the competition for places in the squad even much tighter.
The organisers of the Mayor’s Cup’s tournament hailed it a success. The tournament was organised by Gaborone City Council in conjunction with Spot Kick.
Talking to SpotKick managing director, Tshepo Molwane, he was happy the tournament went according to plan. “The tournament went well. In terms of organisation everything was on point and the objectives of the tournament was met,” Molwane said.
Molwane said the tournament was beneficial to the supporters and the general public because it encouraged and there were spots was people could test for various diseases. “It was one of the intention to make sure people test for diseases so that they can know their health status,” Molwane noted.
Gaborone City Mayor Kagiso Thutlwe like Molwane also believed the tournament went according to plan. “It was an inaugural edition of the the annual tournament. We used the tournament to encourage, especially men, to come forward and test for HIV/AIDS.I believed we made strides and the one-day tournament achieved its intentions,” Thutlwe said.
“The world over cities are known for sporting activities; we want the City of Gaborone to be known for hosting the Mayor’s Cup,” he observed.
Thutlwe promised a better tournament next year. “As we go forward we want supporters to vote in teams that they want to participate in the tournament. We are going to engage mobile operators to avail the lines that supporters can use to vote for the teams they want to participate in the cup,” he explained.
Molwane said that they would be evaluating the tournament in two weeks’ time and start preparing for the 2018 edition of the tournament.
“We are going to take the concerns from all stake holders into consideration and address them so that in future such concerns won’t reoccur. There were concerns that tickets might be little bit expensive and also there were lot of activities on the day that divide the football people,” explained Molwane.
