On loan Kaizer Chiefs defender Xolani Cossa made a striking start to his Botswana Premier League journey by scoring a cracker of a goal that led Black Lions to their first victory of the season.
The win came against Amakhosi legend Reneilwe Letsholonyane’s team, Matebele FC, who faced a challenging debut in the neighbouring country.
Both Cossa and Letsholonyane joined their respective Botswana clubs during the just-ended FIFA international break. Cossa is on a season loan at Lions, who Owen Da Gama coaches, while the man nicknamed ‘Yeye’ is the newly appointed head coach of Matebele FC.
Lions hosted Matebele in a Premier League encounter at the Royal Aria Stadium in Gaborone on Saturday afternoon. Cossa, who received his clearance earlier in the week, scored within just 33 minutes of his debut.
The 22-year-old left-centre-back arrived in Gaborone last weekend to begin his season-long loan spell. Cossa scored a well-placed free-kick, and his goal was enough to earn the Lions their first set of maximum points. Da Gama’s charges had played the first three games without a win.
They opened their campaign with a clash against Sua Flamingoes, which they lost 2-0 before narrowly losing to Jwaneng Galaxy, who are under the tutelage of former Cape Town Spurs technical director Sean Connor. The third match was against giants Township Rollers, and they lost 2-1.
WHAT DA GAMA SAID AHEAD OF THE MATCH
“The coach of Matebele is my former player; he played at Chiefs, and then he played with me at Highlands Park. He understands how I think and how I do things. I’m sure he will be brewing something to try to upset us. At the end of the day, we are resolute and we want to win this game,” Da Gama told club media.
With the positive result, he will hope to build on it and gain some winning momentum. Lions are newcomers to the Botswana top flight after purchasing the status of VTM FC, formerly home to Sifiso Myeni and Rooi Mahamutsa. Lions will take on Morupule Wanderers on Wednesday.
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