Following lackluster performances at the weekend, the country’s diamond clubs desperately need to find their sparkle if they are to avoid being booted out of Africa at the first time of asking.
Both ties are balanced on a knife-edge.
In the CAF Champions League, Jwaneng Galaxy need to dig into their famed resources when they take on African Stars at the National Stadium on Saturday (August 24th).
The local lads trail the Namibian Champions 1-0 after a disastrous first-leg, which, although it was Stars’ ‘home game’, was played in Gaborone due to Namibia not having a suitable CAF accredited ground.
Botswana soil proved no advantage for BW’s Best, who never recovered after falling behind to Willy Stephanus’ 6th minute strike.
It means Morena Ramoreboli’s men have now failed to score in their last six CAF matches; fire blanks again on Saturday, and Stars will send them shooting out of the tournament at the preliminary stage.
For a team that made the group stages in the previous campaign, and harboured ambitions of getting to the quarter-finals this time around, exiting the continent’s top club competition this early would be a disaster!
However, Galaxy are far from beaten.
The Gala Nation have previous when it comes to CAF comebacks, most famously back in October 2021 against Tanzanian powerhouse, Simba SC.
3-0 down on aggregate at half-time in the second-leg, Galaxy rose from the dead in Dar es Salaam, scoring three times in a scarcely believable 45 minutes in East Africa. The tie finished 3-3 and Galaxy went through on away goals.
Three years on and the mountain is now a hill; it still needs to be scaled though, against an organised Stars side who looked compact in defence and comfortable in possession.
A goal for the Namibians would once again leave Galaxy needing to score three to progress.
If they can get past Stars, a possible rematch with Orlando Pirates awaits in the next round. The Buccaneers were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw away against Disciples FC but should have too much for the Mauritius-minnows in Friday’s second-leg at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.
Meanwhile, Galaxy’s mining brothers, Orapa United are on slightly firmer ground in the CAF Confederations Cups.
Marking their return to continental football after a three-year absence, the Ostriches stuttered to a 1-1 stalemate in their opener against Foresters FC, stumped by a late equalizer after Oarabile Sekwai put the Boys from Boteti ahead in the 70th minute.
Although Foresters are from Seychelles, the game took place in Saint Pierre, Mauritius as the islanders don’t have a ground fit for purpose.
The second-leg will be played at the National Stadium on Sunday, with Orapa Communications Officer, Emmanuel Seiphetlho explaining they were unable to take the game to Ghetto’s Obed Itani Chilume stadium as was originally hoped.
“CAF rules stipulate that where a visiting team land, they have to play within a radius of 200km of the airport. If not, the home team have to fulfill the bill to the next ground by flight. Currently our coffers do not permit to take them to Francistown. We registered both grounds for CAF,” clarified Seiphetlho.
While he admitted drawing the first encounter was not ideal, Seiphetlho stressed it was hardly a catastrophe either.
“The draw wasn’t what we intended, but their equalizer came at the last minute, which shows their quality. We’re approaching Sunday’s game with a fresh mindset and won’t be relying on the results from the first leg. Our preparations are going well, and there are no injuries in our camp,” he told Voice Sport.
On the edge of both glory and despair, it’s now or never for the diamond giants; there are no second chances, shine or their African adventures will be dimmed before they ever really started!
