12 May 2024

Two teams from the diamond mining towns of Orapa and Jwaneng will battle it out for the Orange FA Cup champions.

Orapa United and Jwaneng Galaxy made it to the finals of the lucrative cup on May 11 in a double-header played at the National Stadium.

Jwaneng Galaxy booked a spot in the final after huffing and puffing against rookies and high flying First Division South outfit, UB Hawks with a solitary goal in the 73th minute through Daniel Msendami.

In the other battle, two premier league giants from the north gave a more entertaining encounter with a 2-1 victory for Orapa United.

Orapa United, or the Ostriches as known by its supporters, opened their account in the first half through Gofaone Mabaya, only for TAFIC to equalise through Onkabetse Makgantai in the second half.

Eric Thibedi sealed the deal for Orapa United in the 87th minute.

Orapa United will go into the final hoping to redeem themselves after suffering a last minute sucker punch against Gaborone United last year while Jwaneng Galaxy will be eyeing their maiden FA Cup trophy.

In a post-match interview, Orapa United coach, Gadimang Tiiso applauded his team for showing character and devoting their efforts towards winning the match.

Tiiso said his team planned to go to the final, but that their position in the league was worrisome.

He said his players must show the same energy and display in league encounters.

He said last seasons defeat by GU was a valuable lesson and that it would inspire his boys to rise to the occasion and make a name for themselves. His counterpart, Morena Ramoreboli of Jwaneng Galaxy said he was impressed that his team managed to overcome a young, compact team under the tutelage of a young coach destined for greater heights.

Ramoreboli said UB Hawks clamped their attacks on the wider channels and were quick and dangerous on counter attacks, but that his defence thwarted their plans. TAFIC’s coach, Nicolus Jacobs said their opponents were a strong and quality outfit.

However, he said his team gifted their opponents two soft goals through poor defending.

He said his team was composed of young boys and that they did well to reach the semi-final stage.

“We wanted to go to the finals, but it was not meant to be,” he said.

Basimanebotlhe Malete of UB Hawks said despite the loss he was impressed with the performance of his team.

“We made one mistake and that error resulted in the only goal of the match,” he said.

He said they also had their chances but could not utilise them.

“We have a bunch of winners in our team.

For us reaching the semi-finals was a good run as we joined the cup as a division one team.

I don’t know if there is any other division one team that has managed to go this far in the cup,” he said. ENDS