RIVALRY RELOADED: Orange Telkom lock horns with Ghana’s GRA

There will be no love lost when bitter rivals Telkom Orange and Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) square it out in the women’s semi-final match of the ongoing Africa Cup of Club Championships.

The two antagonists will turn Lusaka’s Olympic Youth Development Centre into a war zone as they battle for a finals slot.

GRA thrashed Sharkia 4-1 to top pool B with nine points and book a date with champions Telkom, who finished second in group A behind Ghana Police who beat Lusaka Sharks by the same margin.

Telkom and Police were level on four points but the Kenyan girls were condemned to second in the pool due to an inferior goal difference. Police will play Sharkia in another semis tie.

African queens Telkom will leave nothing to chance as they seek to defend their crown. Head Coach Jos Openda told Feverpitch that he expects a very close encounter bearing in mind that the two clubs have a history.

“We have met several times and fought harder for victory this time will not be different because our title is at stake; the more reason for us to give our all.”

However, Telkom will have to be on top of their game in order to escape the wrath of the Ghanaian revenue collector who will be out to exert revenge.

The rivalry between the Kenyan and Ghanaian girls dates back to the 2012 deciding match that Orange prevailed 4-2 in a penalty shootout to lift the continental trophy.

In the next competition that was played in January 2014 in Kampala Telkom beat GRA 2-1 to ensure an-all-Kenyan final with Strathmore University. Their antagonism has been boiling up and last year in Bulawayo, Telkom crushed GRA once again in the semis by the same margin forcing them to shelve their crown ambitions and battle for bronze.

Openda will rely on his midfield to create more chances and his forwards to rise to the occasion and score goals in order to prevail over the Ghanaians who have been on a goal-scoring spree.

GRA have scored a total of 24 goals and conceded one while Orange have score five and conceded three this far in the tournament.