By ‘Mamohaila Rampo
MASERU
The highly anticipated match against Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) FC with Lioli was a mere continuation of what seems like a culture for the current Vodacom Premier League (VPL) season – draw.
The games played at Ratjomose Grounds on Saturday.
The trend was also entertained by Machokha 1-1 Galaxy and Lijabatho 0-0 Lifofane.
This is the second draw for LDF FC, having scored 2-2 against Linare at the inception of the games last weekend.
For the current match, the games ended in a goalless round after the two sides seemed to have no formation or strategy for the game, going back and forth chasing the ball. The match build-up in the first stanza was slow and nothing short of a lack of goal-scoring strategies and game planning from both sides, no goal was shot.
In the second half, both teams came onto the field ready to thump in goals. It was evident that a more strategic game had been discussed by the teams, as the momentum of the game changed.
With hopes that LDF FC would win, a spectator Thota Thota, said he would be more than pleased if Lioli lost this game, on Lioli’s side, there were just so many new players who are still learning and adjusting to fit in.
After numerous attempts to score goals, there was no luck in favour of either LDF FC or Lioli and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
In an interview with Informative Sport, Lioli Coach Bob Mafoso said they scared their opponents in the first half when they had the ball. However, he stated that since they are a new team, his players could not adjust quickly to changes that came about in the team. “We did not play in the first half but we defended,” said Mafoso.
Nonetheless, he was happy with the end results because LDF is a big team that came out number two in last season’s championships.
LDF FC Coach Motheo Mohapi said he perceived that his boys cannot settle well in the field. However, he is still proud with their achievement thus far. LDF FC has played with strong teams ever since the season began.
The coach said he will calm his boys down, because they come with high expectations that lead to panic in the field. Mohapi used all his substitutes in the game, saying the game was not going the way he had anticipated.
As compared to last week’s games, he had changed most of the players, indicating that it gives all his players exposure. He confirmed that some had sustained injuries from the previous match, so they are in the process of recovering. Mohapi said should there be any suspension, or major injuries for his trusted players, some should always be on standby, ready to assist.
He said he is doing multiple research that will assist him to calm players in the matches to avoid panicking.
As record breakers for this week, the following matches hyped up the beginning of the season: Liphakoe 2-1 against Manonyane, Bantu 2-0 LCS FC, Linare attained 0-1 against Matlama while LMPS FC logged 1-0 against CCX.
