Magosi endure a rough season
The 1-0 loss BTC premiership outfit Mochudi Centre Chiefs suffered at the hands of rival league newbies Jwaneng Galaxy, provided a peep into their tumultuous 2016/17 season campaign so far. For the Kgatleng giants the 2016/17 season has been a long and tedious campaign. The limping league giants have enjoyed relatively premiership success in the past 17 years but Magosi are now in danger of finishing out of the top 8 for the first time in recent history.
In the past decade, the Kgatleng outfit has won four championships and twice participated in African safari competitions including the Champions League. Chiefs are currently in position 8 after 20 games having lost and won seven games including six draws.It was not only on the pitch that Chiefs found success, as the Kgatleng giants produced and sold star players abroad with strikers Jarome Ramatlhakwane and midfielder Dirang Moloi as recent examples. However head coach Bongani Mafu’s team has huffed and puffed to grind results and systemetically lost to premier league rookies Black Forest and relative newcomers Jwaneng Galaxy FC. This week, sources close to Magosi said a Top 8 finish will be close to a miracle for the Kgatleng outfit who might even find themslves warding off relegation with only nine games until the season concludes. “Senior players at the team are hardly attending training sessions due to delayed payments. Players cannot train on a full time basis because management is failing to honour the promises they made,” a source who prefers anonymity said.
“In the process this has only left few players who hardly feature in their games turning-up for training a development that has put their tactician Bongani Mafu between a rock and a hard place especially during match days as far as team selection is concerned.” Further reports are that some senior players only turn-up hours before kickoff at games, which allegedly forces the Zimbabwean gaffer, Mafu to select them soley based on their experience.
To make matters worse since parting ways with their financiers the Jamali family, Chiefs management have been moving from pillar to post in search of a training ground. Another source whispered that there is internal wrangling within team management, which has only made matters worse for the Kgatleng outfit.
Nevertheless, Magosi spokesperson recently said they will do everything to avoid relegation and finish in the Top 8. “Injuries have done us no favours this season, let alone financial issues which we are faced with. We had potential investors in December whom we had already started negotiating with but when they learnt of our court cases, they asked us to put our house in order first,” Mogomotsi said this week.
With nine games left for the BTC Premiership season to end Mochudi Centre Chiefs are placed on 8th spot with 27 points equal to Gaborone United and Police XI.
