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Likuena told to improve performance

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MASERU – Lesotho coach Moses Maliehe says Likuena have to improve if they are to qualify for their first-ever international tournament.
Maliehe was speaking in the wake of Lesotho’s 1-1 draw with Cape Verde on Sunday in the side’s second 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group L qualifier.
The result at Setsoto Stadium leaves Likuena second in the group behind Uganda who also played to a draw against Tanzania at the weekend, a 0-0 stalemate last Saturday.
Maliehe blasted Lesotho’s first half display against Cape Verde in which the hosts were thoroughly outplayed in all facets of the game.

Likuena improved in the second period to take a 75th minute lead through Motebang Sera but jittery defending, a worrying feature of Lesotho’s display all afternoon, allowed Cape Verde to steal a late equaliser through Jorge Djaniny and deny Maliehe’s side two crucial points.
“We managed to get a goal in the end but a football match is played for 90 minutes and not for 45 minutes; we played for 45 minutes because in the first half we did not play well at all,” Maliehe said.

“However, in the second half after talking with the players things started to change, we attacked and we got a goal.”
One point is better than none, however, and Maliehe expressed relief at his team’s recovery after a nervous, uninspiring first half display.
“Honestly, I am very happy with my players, I am also happy they played well even though it was difficult,” Maliehe said.

“Like I said before this game, most of Cape Verde’s players are based in Europe so it was going to be very tactical and you also saw how they played,” he added.
“(Cape Verde) are very fit, they play old (school) football; they pass and play, they don’t stop (moving) like our players. But like I always say, we learn every time when we play and we are going to work on the things we did wrong and the things we should have done and didn’t do. But most important, we must learn that a game of football is played for 90 minutes, not 45 minutes.”
The importance of this qualifying campaign also can’t be understated.
Lesotho is in its best moment in recent memory.

In June, Likuena finished third at the 2018 COSAFA Cup after an impressive performance in South Africa.
Lesotho also has its most talented collection of players in some time, headlined by Tumelo Khutlang who recently joined South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) side Black Leopards and is off to a fine start across the border.

Likuena also boast Tshwarelo Bereng, a seasoned PSL pro who shone against Cape Verde. Masoabi Nkoto and Luciano Matsoso are likewise based in South Africa while Jane Tšotleho (Cambodia) and Lesia Thetsane (United States) offer options playing further abroad.
In addition, the 2019 AFCON – which will feature 24 teams for the first time – offers Lesotho its best chance to qualify for a continental championship because the top two teams from each group will advance to Cameroon next June.

The general consensus, therefore, is this is Lesotho’s golden opportunity with Likuena also having dodged Africa’s superpowers such as Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria and Zambia as has been the case in recent qualifying campaigns.

Lesotho’s next Group L games come in the form of a crucial double-header against Uganda next month.
Likuena will face the Cranes away on October 10 before hosting Uganda at Setsoto on October 14.
Maliehe said there will have to be improvement in how Lesotho approaches those ties.

“With the teams we are going to play against, we have to be strong when we have the ball and even when we don’t have the ball, and that is what we have been trying to do,” he said.
Another area is the side’s speed of play, an aspect Maliehe scouted from Cape Verde when they beat South Africa twice last year during 2018 World Cup qualifying.
“Our football here in Lesotho is very slow but you could see (Cape Verde) were quick,” Maliehe said.

“When they have the ball they are moving, we have to improve on those things. Our reaction was very slow, they were reacting quicker than us, and these are things we were working on during the week. Like I said, I did go and watch (Cape Verde) against South Africa, I saw that they are very quick with the ball and we were working on it but it will not be a success at once, we will have to keep on repeating it.”

A win on Sunday certainly would have helped and boosted the morale of the fans that made their way to Setsoto despite the cold and windy weather which left Cape Verde’s freezing bench wrapped with shawls throughout the game.
Nonetheless, despite their cold bodies, Cape Verde were the livelier side and must have felt aggrieved to go into the halftime break without a goal given their goalscoring chances.
The visitors were also helped by Lesotho’s defensive glitches with the back four, marshalled by skipper Mafa Moremoholo, leaving too many gaps for the opposition to exploit and forcing goalkeeper Likano Mphuthi to pull off heroic saves to keep the scores level.

Maliehe made changes in the second half, firstly by bringing on Sera for Nkoto after four minutes.
Soon afterwards Hlompho Kalake was introduced for the ineffective Jane.
The substitutions made a difference.

‘Stiga’, as Kalake is known, refreshed Likuena by attacking a Cape Verde defence that had been untested for 45 minutes at every opportunity.
For the first time Lesotho looked lively and Tšepo Toloane came close to giving the hosts the lead only for his shot to shave the crossbar.
The crowd roared their approval as they finally sensed urgency from their heroes and the magical moment came with 15 minutes to go as super-sub Sera took on a defender, cut inside and unleashed a monstrous strike past Josimar Dias to send the crowd into ecstasy.

It was a moment of brilliance but Basotho’s joy was short-lived as the visitors equalised on 82 minutes when Likuena paid a dear price for failing to clear their lines.
Despite drawing a second successive qualifier, Lesotho is still firmly in the race to Cameroon 2019.

Luciah Phahla

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Naughty Boys player stabbed to death

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Vodacom Premier League outfit Naughty Boys are dealing with the agonizing pain of the death on Sunday of key player Tšepo Mosaeeea.
Mosaeeea was stabbed to death in Ha-Ramohapi where he stayed in a rented house after he reportedly tried to break up an altercation between groups of men who were fighting over women.

His death came just hours after bottom side Naughty Boys beat Machokha 3-0 in the Vodacom Premiership in a potentially season-saving victory.
The win was a crucial boost to their survival hopes but just hours later tragedy engulfed the club.

Mosaeea was recognised as one of Naughty Boys’ most talented players by his teammates and coaches.
The club said his death has caused a deep wound in their hearts that will never heal.

“The space Tšepo left is something we are not sure will ever be filled because he grew up in this team from when he started playing football,” said Naughty Boys’ communications and marketing manager Moeketsi Sefatja.

“He took Naughty boys from the B-Division to the A-Division, and then from the A-Division to the premier league. The goal that helped the team to make it to the premier league was scored by him in 2022 when we beat Limkokwing University 1-0. He was very good at scoring and most of our goals were scored by him,” he said.

Mosaeea’s death is even more painful because of the numerous tragedies that Naughty Boys have dealt with over the past year.
Earlier this year another player, Fusi Mochai, also lost his life at a young age while club president Khotsofalang Possa died last year.
Sefatja said Mosaeea played “very well” in Sunday’s win over Machokha and had been one of the club’s best performers this season.

“Mosaeea started the game on a very high note and did very well. Everyone could see that he is back with the good things he is known for and people could not stop embracing him,” Sefatja said.

“I knew about his death at around 5am,” he added.

“I received a phone call from one of the people living in Ha-Ramohapi asking if I had heard of what had happened. I immediately left home to go to his place but met his family on their way to the hospital and went back with them (to the hospital). We got to the hospital and his death was confirmed,” he said.

Sefatja said Mosaeea’s death is a very big loss to the team, his friends, family and everyone who knew him.

“It hurts even more because he was not even fighting with anyone but was only trying to stop people who were having an argument and instead they chose to kill him,” Sefatja said.

“The situation has really become a problem because both our player’s deaths happened in their village (Ha-Ramohapi) and all these acts are done by people from the same village. These people have turned Ha-Ramohapi into an unfriendly environment for the villagers,” he said.

Moipone Makholinyane

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Big send-off for Lesotho athletes

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Lesotho’s various sports mother bodies held a send-off ceremony yesterday for the eight athletes that will represent the country at the African Games in Ghana.
The continental games start tomorrow and finish on March 23.

Before their departure, the athletes were educated about anti-doping and safeguarding so that they do not fall into the trap of doping.
Team Lesotho will compete in four sporting codes – taekwondo, athletics, cycling and boxing – and the team will be accompanied by a medical team for Anti-doping and a member of the Lesotho Sports and Recreation Commission (LSRC).

The team manager of Team Lesotho, ‘Makutloano Kheola, promised to return with glory because they are going to Accra to fight and not just to participate.
She said they are going to work hand in hand with their coaches to ensure that happens.

Kheola added that she appreciates the team’s sponsors for making their trip happen, especially those who gave them the unique traditional attire that they will wear during the official opening of the games.
She said when they return with medals, this edition of the African Games should forever be remembered in the history of the country.

“We are going to present the country of Ghana, this year we celebrate 200 years as the Basotho Nation. We promise Basotho that we are going to fight as Team Lesotho so that when the country celebrates, these games should be part of history. That is the promise the players made to me as their leader,” she said.

On behalf of the athletes, Tšepo Ramoshabole said they acknowledge their undertaking to conform to the athletic code of conduct sent by them. He said they will participate in the games, respecting and abiding the rules which govern them and in the spirit of fair play, equality and inclusion for all.

Speaking on behalf of the other coaches, athletics coach Letsema Moiloa said they are tired of participating in competitions, now they want to be part of the competing countries.

“I have pleaded with (the relevant bodies) that after these games, the country should keep the athletes training and improving and that they should not just qualify for the African Games and end there,” Moiloa said.

The president of the LSRC, Litšitso Motšeremeli, wished Team Lesotho “nothing but the best of luck.”

He said the effort the LSRC is making to give the athletes international exposure should be appreciated because they are doing that through a tight budget.

Relebohile Tšepe

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Lioli boss rallies troops

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Lioli head coach Motheo Mohapi says their “mission” matters more than their position on the Vodacom Premier League table.
Mohapi took over as Lioli coach at the beginning of the season and found Lioli in the doldrums after ‘Tse Nala’ missed out on a top four place for the fourth year in a row.
Seven months later Mohapi has transformed ‘Tse Nala’ into title challengers and raised hopes of a league championship going to Teyateyaneng for the first time since 2016.

Lioli regained top spot in the Vodacom Premiership last weekend with a 2-1 win over Manonyane and the destiny of the title is back in their hands with nine games to go.
Mohapi said he is happy that “the dignity is back at Lioli” but he insisted that the culture and faith has not yet reached the levels he wants.
Lioli may be winning, Mohapi said, but not in the way he wants.

His mission is to return Lioli to being the dominant juggernaut that won four league championships, three Independence Cup trophies and three Lesotho National Insurance Group (LNIG) Top 8 titles between 2009 and 2018.

“I want to see exactly what Lioli was known for (in the past), our style of playing and how we score should always be of high standard,” Mohapi said.

“Most people knew that Lioli win all of their games when they play, so until it turns to that point, I will keep pushing the team.”

That pursuit of perfection has served Mohapi well in a prosperous career.
Last season it inspired Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) to second place in the Vodacom Premiership and he arrived in TY determined to go one better this year.
So far, so good.

Lioli lead the standings with 49 points, one point ahead of Matlama and four ahead of defending champions Bantu who are in third place.
Mohapi said his players can now see where he wants to take them and their confidence, as a result, has grown.

Even when Lioli have slipped up, like in the 1-0 loss to LDF two weeks ago, it was because their own mistakes haunted them and not because they were outplayed.
Mohapi said his charges seemed to be afraid of LDF because he coached the army side. He insisted Lioli could have won if they played their game without doubting themselves.
Their approach towards Manonyane was back to their normal style, he said, and that is the reason why ‘Tse Nala’ won.
Mohapi praised his players’ concentration and communication, which he said has been key to their title chase.

“It did not take us even a minute to score a second goal after Manonyane celebrated their goal. The same thing happened against Matlama (1-1 draw in January), so that means the more our opponent catches us, the more we have to fight back,” he said.

“I also want to teach them to fight until the referee blows the final whistle.”

That fighting spirit and hope is filtering all the way through TY and Berea.
Mohapi said Lioli supporters greet him wherever he goes which shows he is answering prayers of a fan base that has not celebrated trophy success since winning the Independence Cup in 2018.

Mohapi urged the fans to show their vigour further by voting Lioli into the People’s Cup, which would give them a chance of completing a league and cup double.

“The supporters trust us and we will not disappoint them, the message of support they will give us by putting us in that (People’s Cup) tournament will be massive for us and we will return the favour to them. We promise to do whatever it takes to come with what will keep the smiles on our Berea community,” he said.

For now, the focus remains on the league chase and Lioli’s next match is on Sunday when they face a tricky test against seventh-placed Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) at the LCS ground. It promises to be a tough encounter between two of Lesotho’s most successful club sides.

“(LCS) should be ready,” Mohapi said. “Because we are getting ready for them.”

Relebohile Tšepe

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