Ramalema Cosmos crowned new champions of KLG for 2013/14

RAMALEMA Cosmos was crowned the overall 2013/14 champions of the Kaizer Letsoalo Games (KLG) soccer league after they beat Manamela Naughty Boys 2-0 in Rasebalane on Saturday.

The Moruleng Sports Ground was swarming with thousands of football fanatics when the second leg play-offs match to decide the overall champions of the two streams league was played.

It was a hectic and ecstatic day for everyone to remember as it marked the end of a very long year of exciting matches in this tough league for Ramalema Cosmos.

There had to be a result on Saturday as the two teams played to a scoreless stalemate in the first leg two at the Swika la Motheo Sports Ground in recently. It was Ramalema Cosmos that came to the second leg encounter with a big advantage because they had not conceded any goal during the first leg. This meant that any draw with goals would have been sufficient for them to claim the title.

On the other hand, Manamela Naughty Boys seemed to be quite aware of this scenario and were the more jittery of the two sides. They was a completely different set of players than usual in the earlier matches as they lacked urgency, technique and tactics. Their nerves and the fear of committing mistakes appeared to have gotten the better of the Manamela players. In reality, they nearly conceded about three goals after Ramalema Cosmos missed clear goal-scoring opportunities midway through the first half.

There was drama in the ground just before kick-off as the multitude of fans witnessed individuals from the two camps performing what was believed to be “ritualistic prescriptions” to secure luck for their respective sides.

At half-time, Ramalema Cosmos was leading by 1-0.

However, the optimistic ritual leader of the Manamela camp persisted in doing her “project” in the Ramalema goalpost area.

This, in the end proved fruitless as Ramalema Cosmos secured a 2-0 cushion in the 79th minute to seal victory.