Kick off back page Kaizer Chiefs have been drawn to face Township Rollers in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League - find out what Amakhosi can expect from their Gaborone-based opponents. CAF Champs League draw results Besides being Botswana’s most decorated team, Rollers command a strong following in the country. This season, in the halfway stage of the beMOBILE Botswana Premier League (BPL), Rollers are top of the table with 37 points from 15 games. Bucs advance in Confed Cup Like Chiefs, Rollers have not lost this season. They have 11 wins and four draws and are four points ahead of second-placed Mochudi Centre Chiefs. History: Township Rollers Football Club was created in 1961 in Gaborone and boast at least 12 league honors dating back to 1979 with their most recent coming in 2014. They have also won several cup competitions. The current BPL champions known as ‘Mapalastina’ have over the years exported several top players to South Africa such as Phenyo Mongala, Boitumelo Mafoko, Mogakolodi Ngele, Terrance Mandaza, Kabelo Dambe and Mirror Simanyana amongst others. Coach: Zimbabwean Madinda Ndlovu is the brother of Peter and Adam Ndlovu who both played in South Africa. Madinda has proved to be Botswana’s leading coach after winning his third consecutive League title. He won last season’s title with Rollers while guiding Mochudi Centre Chiefs to the two titles prior to that. Madinda is currently in Europe to further his coaching education. He has also coached in Zimbabwe and has coaching experience in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup. Players to watch: Segolame Boy Boy is considered the next Mogakolodi Ngele, the next genuine star player coming out of Botswana. The young attacking midfielder has a similar style of play to Ngele, an eye for goal and plenty of trickery. He has four goals in 12 matches for Rollers this season and is a newcomer in the Zebras national team. Mamelodi Sundowns have sent scouts to watch him play and are believed to want him in Tshwane. Manqoba ‘Shakes’ Ngwenya Ngwenya, now 34, is used mainly as an impact player off the bench. But he still has eight goals this season, just one behind the league’s leading scorers. He will be a crucial component when Rollers face Chiefs, a team he knows well from his years playing in South Africa. Jerome Lewis Namibia international striker Lewis has nine goals this season and leads the BPL goal scoring charts, a position he has become used to in his career thus far. He will be the man to watch inside the final third of the field.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:47:51 +0000