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.”
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