Sua add to Angels’ pain
Underneath a grey, foreboding sky, Eleven Angels slipped deeper into the relegation swamp, slumping to a 2-1 loss against fellow strugglers, Sua Flamingoes at the Old Francistown Stadium on Saturday.
The damaging defeat saw Angels swap places with Sua, falling into the drop zone as their stuttering start to the season hit a new low.
However, Seemo Mpatane’s minnows should take heart from the log, with just six points separating them from sixth-placed Tafic; string a few wins together, and the table will look very different.
With both teams short on confidence, each winless in their last four outings, the weekend clash got off to a cagey, nervous start.
An earlier downpour combined with the dark, pregnant clouds that hovered menacingly above the second city, meant the match was played out before a sparse crowd, the famous Angels army failing to turn up in their usual droves.
Those that did attend, including several Sua supporters who made the 170km journey from the pans, saw the Flamingoes ease ahead in the 41st minute.
In acres of space down the left, Keorapetse Ramakgathi was afforded the freedom of Francistown, given far too much time to measure his cross.
Making his first start for Sua since signing from Matebele in the winter, the 23-year-old winger picked out Samuel Makgoro perfectly, the giant forward expertly guiding his header home at the far post.
Showing the fighting spirit that has seen them rise through the divisions since their formation in 2010, Angels hit back almost immediately.
Bearing down on goal, speedy striker, Kaone Bagosi was hacked to the ground by Sua goalkeeper, Keletso Lekuni, beating the former Angels shot-stopper to the ball by a fraction of a second, leaving the referee with little choice but to award a penalty.
Having missed from the spot against TAFIC just a week ago, a last minute mishap that cost Mpatane’s men two precious points, the pressure was on.
This time, left back, Ofentse Ntesang stepped up, calmly dispatching his penalty passed Lekuni to level the score. It was Lekgamu La Bananyana’s first goal in three games, and only their 10th of the season.
With half-time on the horizon, what had previously been a good-tempered battle boiled over, Angels’ players and technical team furious at a crunching tackle that left young Ofentse Mbaiwa in a heap.
The 20-year-old midfielder only returned from injury recently, after breaking his hand against Holy Ghost last December.
Demanding a red, Angels were livid at the yellow card that was eventually brandished.
Although Mbaiwa was fit to return for the second-half, the home side never regained their composure, struggling to find any fluency after the restart.
Their mood soured further when the salt-boys struck in the 72nd minute.
This time Makgoro turned provider, floating a cross to Ramakgathi, who claimed another assist, heading the ball back across goal, for Bame Morwalela to score with a smart, well-taken low header.
Mpatane reacted by making a triple substitution, but the new introductions were unable to change the course of the game and Angels fell to a 5th defeat in 11.
They have no time to lick their wounds, hosting second-bottom, Police XI at the Old Stadium this Friday (22 December) in what, even at this early stage of the season, looks a game the Angels of Aerodrome cannot afford to lose.
With only one victory to their name this season, a 1-0 triumph over BDF XI back in October, the cops are in free-fall, scoring just once in their last five fixtures. A meeting with out-of-form, injury-hit Angels might be just what they need to end the year!
Sua, meanwhile, say goodbye to 2023 with a home game against Holy Ghost, a team that are on the rise, collecting seven points from a possible nine to move out of the dreaded drop zone.