Mikia Kalati
MATLAMA registered arguably their most important win this season edging fellow title hopefuls LCS 2-1 at Setsoto Stadium on Saturday.
The victory helped Tse Putsoa, who still have a game in hand, close the gap between them and Masheshena to just one point.
The country’s most successful side with nine league titles have gone for almost a decade without a league title having last won it during the 2009/10 season and they surely now fancy their chances of ending the long drought.
Of course, there is still a long way to go in the race as LCS themselves still have a good chance of winning the league despite the loss to their rivals on Saturday.
But I think Tse Putsoa have a balanced and experienced squad to go all the way if they maintain consistency as well as grinding results like they have been doing in the new-year.
However, Matlama must first work on their dressing rooms demons that could still work against them in the race for the title.
Star midfielder and long serving Phafa Tšosane has not played in the last two games against Liphakoe and LCS. I am reliably informed that the player is not happy with his salary as well as the promises made to him by the previous committee of the club.
In his absence, the club have had to rely on veteran midfielder Bushy Moletsane and Mabuti Potloane they will need all their best players to go all the way. Tšosane is a quality player, who has made a big contribution throughout the years and they need him.
However, there is still a long way to go and I expect Bantu to now come back raging like tornado now that the side has been eliminated from the CAF Confederations Cup.
A Matšo Matebele are five games behind the rest of the teams in the race for the title and can go to the top of the table provided they win all their outstanding games.
The second stanza of the league is surely going to be very exciting as LCS will look to maintain their place at the top and bounce back from the defeat by Matlama in their next game. On the other hand, Bantu players will look to make up for the disappointment of failing to make it to the group stages of the CAF Confederations Cup.
Teams like LDF and Kick4Life are also close to the race and also have a good chance to compete for the title.
For me this is very exciting for football and I hope that it will go down to the wire with three or four teams all within a chance of winning the championship.
