Quote of the week

“To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are.” – Muhammad Ali

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Vodacom Premier League - Week 10 Talking Points

The Vodacom Premier League is slowly starting to take shape. Here are the talking points from the latest round of action in the #LPL. Enjoy!
Let the good times roll...
Phafa Tšosane (right) is one of the many on-form Matlama players
Matlama doing… fabulous
Matlama are riding the crest of a wave. Five matches won in a row and Tse Putsoa have opened up a four-point cushion at the top of the Vodacom Premier League. Matlama have been helped by the form of pre-season title favourites Lioli and Bantu. Lioli have struggled lately and are without a win in three league games. Conversely, Bantu started poorly and have only started to find form in their last three outings.

While Lioli and Bantu have faced challenges Matlama have been clicking. The form of Motebang Sera, in particular, has been a bright spot. The young striker scored both goals in Matlama’s win 2-1 over Liphakoe in Quthing on Sunday and he now has seven goals for the season. Tse Putsoa’s next games, however, will reveal a lot about where their season can go. Next up, Matlama face LCS followed by back-to-back games against Lioli and Bantu. We are about to find out what Matlama really has.

Likhopo stutter, Sandawana soars
After reaching the summit of the league at the beginning of the month, Likhopo have lost two in a row to drop to fourth. Last week they suffered a heart-breaking last minute loss to Matlama and this week they were outplayed at home by Sandawana. It has been a humbling two weeks for the young side and their young coach Shalane Lehohla. The Red Army need to recover quickly from this stumble or their early season promise might be lost.

Their conquerors Sandawana, meanwhile, are on a brilliant run. Saturday’s win was their fifth in a row; the joint best run of form with Matlama. It is difficult to say how long they can keep it up, but one thing is for sure: Bob Mafoso’s has made a remarkable impact since joining the club. Since his arrival last month the Butha-Buthe side hasn’t dropped a point.

Form Table – Last five games


G
W
D
L
GF
GA
Pts
1
Matlama
5
5
0
0
11
5
15
2
Sandawana
5
5
0
0
9
2
15
3
LCS
5
3
1
1
6
3
10
4
Bantu
5
3
1
1
5
2
10
5
Likhopo
5
3
0
2
9
6
9

LCS under the radar
One team that is flying under the radar is LCS. They have silently compiled the league’s joint second best record over the past month and they recorded another win with a 3-1 victory over Rovers on Sunday. Mpitsa Marai has done a steady job since taking charge in June. The former LCS captain hasn’t made drastic changes but he is clearly trying to build the efficient machine he played for during Masheshena’s glory days.

The form of Lieta Lehloka has been a big plus. Lehloka was an exciting youngster when Marai was captaining LCS, now the midfielder is one of Masheshena’s leaders. Lehloka has been a revelation in a more attacking role. He shared the top scorer award at the Independence Cup and he scored a brace against Rovers to continue his rich vein of form. LCS are sixth but they are only five points off the top of the league. Don’t sleep on Masheshena.
Three wins in three...
Don't sleep on Bantu either
Watch out for Bantu
Speaking of not sleeping, keep an eye out for Bantu as well. Pound-for-pound, the Mafeteng giants have the best squad in the country. And, after a poor start which saw them fall to tenth, Bantu now have many things to be positive about.

A Matšo Matebele are on a three-match winning streak in the league after Sunday’s 1-0 win over Linare.

They won the Independence Cup three weeks ago and now they have 2014 title-winning coach Motlatsi Shale back in charge. All is looking sweet again in Mafeteng, and that could spell trouble for the rest of the league.

Week 10 Results
Saturday
Likhopo 1-2 Sandawana
Lioli 0-0 Kick4Life
LMPS 0-0 Mphatlalatsane

Sunday
Linare 0-1 Bantu
Liphakoe 1-2 Matlama
LDF 1-0 Likila United
LCS 3-1 Rovers

Vodacom Premier League


P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Matlama
9
7
1
1
17
9
8
22
2
Lioli
9
5
3
1
12
5
7
18
3
Sandawana
11
5
3
3
13
12
1
18
4
Likhopo
9
5
2
2
16
7
9
17
5
Bantu
9
5
2
2
9
5
4
17
6
LCS
9
5
2
2
9
5
4
17
7
Rovers
10
4
2
4
8
9
-1
14
8
Kick4Life
11
2
6
3
7
11
-4
12
9
LDF
10
2
5
3
6
8
-2
11
10
Likila United
11
3
2
6
10
14
-4
11
11
Linare
11
3
1
7
12
16
-4
10
12
Liphakoe
10
1
5
4
5
9
-4
8
13
LMPS
11
1
5
5
9
13
-4
8
14
Mphatlalatsane
10
1
3
6
6
15
-9
6
Correct as of November 22, 2015

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