Jomo Sono might have been expected to hit the ceiling when the Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Monday announced the rain-postponed league game between his Jomo Cosmos team and Golden Arrows had been rescheduled for Tuesday — a mere 96 hours before the Coca-Cola Cup final against Supersport United in Polokwane on Saturday.
Instead, the ring-wise ”Black Prince” was purring like a kitten — explaining that playing against Golden Arrows at the Bidvest Stadium in Milpark on Tuesday (3.45pm) means that the rampant Mamadou Diallo will now be eligible to play in the Coca-Cola Cup final against Supersport.
”Diallo is on a one-game suspension,” explained Sono, ”and if the Arrows game had not been scheduled for this week, he would have had to complete his suspension by missing Saturday’s final.
”Now,” said Sono about the Senegalese striker he calls the ”Big Man”, ”Diallo will be raring to go in Polokwane and ready to torment Supersport.”
It would not be too difficult believing the little bird who suggested that it was, in fact, Sono who had instigated the decision for the Cosmos-Arrows game to be played on Tuesday.
Diallo and mesmerising Liberian Anthony Laffor have been conspicuous ”partners” in spearheading Cosmos’ impressive recent revival, and Sono is delighted to have the pair in tandem against Supersport.
”As for the Arrows game,” says the Cosmos owner-coach, ”we’ll have to do without the ‘Big Man’, but the team is in a groove right now and quite capable of earning points to move up the PSL log table.”
Meanwhile, the PSL announced that the rain-postponed game between Free State Stars and Dynamos will also take place on Tuesday afternoon — although the venue has been switched to the Charles Mopeli Stadium in Qwa Qwa.
And in a third PSL game on Tuesday, Classic are at home to Silver Stars at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg. — Sapa