Foreign strikers shooting blanks at Rollers
The only positive reflection Mapalasina fans will have of the Ghananian born, Francis Afriye was when he stunned a packed Royal Aria Stadium in Tlokweng after Scottish gaffer, Frank Nuttal made him one of the three ( 3) substitutions, with at least 20 minutes left of the match.
After failing to impress the former Gor Mahia striker was released by the club while the local football season was nullified. At least former Jomo Cosmos striker, Mthokosizi Msomi came to the rescue of Edwin Moalosi after Samuel Phiri of Tafic SC notoriously delivered a hot slap to the Rollers attacker. It was one of the meaningful contributions he made during his stay with Mapalastina, together with his single goal against BDF XI SC in the Mascom Top 8 to help Rollers advance to the semi- finals of the competition.
Who can forget Pape Adulaye Ndaw, not his efficacy in front of goals, but for his towering lanky structure which must have given local defenders a serious scare in the tunnel. Just like many other strikers before him, he managed a single goal in the Mascom Top quarter- final against Police XI and that was all he brought from West Africa.
All the way from Newcastle, England, Karl Finnigan was tipped to be a marquee signing by Mapalastina after the club acquired his services from Chippa United in 2015. Backed by his compatriot coach, Mark Harrison, Finnigan showed glimpses of his quality in some matches but never really showed his full potential in Rollers colours. There is little to write home about the acquisitions of Fabian Mogba ( Ivory Coast) and Benjamin
Sakho ( Liberia), both failed to impress and were loaned out to Police XI and Notwane FC respectfully. With the above information, Township Rollers team manager, Motshegetsi Mafa was contacted to give clarity on their recruitment processes regarding strikers. “We used to have connections across the SADC region, people loved the team, they knew the profile of players we wanted, and so it was easy to make fitting recommendations.
Terrence Mandaza and Jerome Lewis were players that were brought forth by people who knew our culture and understood the type of strikers we wanted,” Mafa reveals. Intermediaries, also known as football agents, have entered the business of profiling and selling of players. With the latest technology, videos are compiled to present to possible suitors the attributes of a player on offer, but the videos do not reveal everything. “Agents have misled us in recent times, we relied on information they give us and we’ve made some blunders in signing our strikers,” the Blues team manager shares.
After a long lay- off, the Blues have landed yet another ‘ baroba dipale’; Jean Betrand Iradukunda from Gasogi United in Rwanda, Mohammed Diallo from Futuro Kings in Equatorial Guinea and Aaron Marc Dion from CF Zoe in Ivory Coast.
Mafa said serious considerations were made when signing their latest additions as they had ample time to evaluate their targets. “COVID- 19 has given us time to reflect on how we have been doing things; we took time to look for a striker profile that fits our style. We are confident that this time around we will have people who will fulfil our interests,” Mafa explained. He further added that international players and coaches need time to acclimatize to the league and show their worth. “Karl Finnigan and Msomi were not given time, we need to be patient and give our players and coaches time to adapt and show their quality. Finnigan, after leaving, he went on to become a top scorer in the English fourth- tier league.
“We want to build this team, it’s unfortunate that we’ve chopped and changed coaches in recent times but we offer our coaches and players’ contracts looking at the objectives we’ve set ourselves, we want to build for the future,” He concluded. The Botswana Football League is expected to start on the 22nd of this month. The jury is out to make a ruling on whether the latest additions to the ranks of Mapalastina is what the doctor has ordered.