Lesotho’s AFCON campaign ends in disappointment

A good night at the office for Algeria...
A bad one for Lesotho

Lesotho ended its 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign on a low note with a demoralising 6-0 loss to Algeria on Sunday night at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida.

Likuena were completely outclassed by Africa’s number one ranked side in what was the final game of a busy weekend of qualifying as the AFCON 2017 qualifiers came to an end.

Algeria’s goals came from Riyad Mahrez, who scored twice, Hillel Soudani, who also scored a brace, as well as Saphir Taider and Ryad Boudebouz,

The match was the first for Milovan Rajevac as coach of Algeria his side raced to a 5-0 lead by halftime.

Leicester City star Mahrez was the star of the night. After Soudani’s seventh minute opener, Mahrez curled in a brilliant 25-yard free kick after 18 minutes to make it 2-0 before Taider scored Algeria’s third five minutes later.

Soudani made it 4-0 in the 38th minute before Boudebouz’s penalty on the stroke of halftime. The Desert Foxes took their foot off the pedal in the second half and their only striker after the break came in the 74th minute when Mahrez netted with a well-taken half-volley.

Algeria ended with a haul of 16 points to top Group J.

Only Senegal, who claimed a 100 percent record in Group K, had a superior record. Lesotho finished bottom with three points. Likuena currently has no matches lined up for the rest of the year. It may be a while until the side gets a chance to wipe away the sour taste of Sunday’s defeat.

Match Summary

Algeria	6-0	Lesotho
Soudani   7’, 38’ Mahrez   18’, 74’ Taider   23’ Boudebouz   45’ (pen.)

Group J standings:

		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
1	Algeria	6	5	1	0	25	5	+20	16
2	Ethiopia	6	3	2	1	11	14	−3	11
3	Seychelles	6	1	1	4	5	11	−6	4
4	Lesotho	6	1	0	5	5	16	−11	3

Likuena’s 2017 AFCON qualifying results:

Ethiopia 2-1 Lesotho (14/06/15)

Lesotho 1-3 Algeria (06/09/15)

Seychelles 2-0 Lesotho (26/03/16)

Lesotho 2-1 Seychelles (29/03/16)

Lesotho 1-2 Ethiopia (05/06/16)

Algeria 6-0 Lesotho (04/09/16)