Maliehe names first Likuena squad

Bantu star Litšepe Marabe (right) has made the cut 

Lesotho caretaker boss Moses Maliehe has named his first Likuena squad. Maliehe took over the national team earlier this month after the sacking of Seephepehe Matete who was also on the job in an interim capacity.

Maliehe has made wholesale changes to the last Lesotho squad and, from the looks of his 25-man squad, the former Under-20 coach is looking to build for the future.

Maliehe has only retained seven players from Matete’s squad which lost to Zimbabwe in last month’s 2016 African Nations Championship qualifier. They are the Lioli trio of Basia Makepe, Jeremia Kamela, Tšoanelo Koetle, Bantu’s duo of Litšepe Marabe, Hlompho Kalake and Jane Thabantšo of Matlama, and LMPS’s Tšepo Seturumane.

Experienced players such as Mohau Kuenane, Moitheri Ntobo, Thapelo Mokhehle, Bokang Mothoana, Bushy Moletsane, Ralekoti Mokhahlane, Lekhanya Lekhanya, Thapelo Tale and Nkau Lerotholi have all been left out by Maliehe.

The squad is largely made of players who have been in the national Under-20 set-up over the past four years, such as Liphakoe’s in-form midfielder Mohau Rammoneng and Lioli’s Mafa Moremoholo who gets his first senior call-up.

Maliehe’s squad sees the recall of Vodacom Premier League top scorer Lehlomela Ramabele of Likhopo after a two-year absence.

Despite going for youth for his first squad, Maliehe said he is not ruling any players out.

“This is a great chance for the new faces to show what they can do, but the door is still open for any player who does well for his club,” Maliehe told the Lesotho Times newspaper.

Lesotho next competitive match is March. Likuena plays back-to-back 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Seychelles. The 25-man squad will convene for two training camps in December to prepare.

Lesotho squad

Goalkeepers: Daniel Jousse (LCS), Liteboho Mokhehle (Lioli)

Defenders: Basia Makepe (Lioli), Mafa Moremoholo (Lioli), Kopano Tseka (Lioli), Bokang Sello (Lioli), John Mohai (Matlama), Nkesi Rankhasa (Matlama) Mkwanazi Mkwanazi (Sandawana)

Midfielders: Tšepo Seturumane (LMPS), Mohau Rammoneng (Liphakoe), Montoeli Sonopo, Tšoanelo Koetle, Tumelo Khutlang, Jeremia Kamela (Lioli), Thabo Seakhoa (LCS). Kefuoe Mahula (Matlama), Jane Thabantšo (Matlama), Tšepang Maine (Matlama) , Hlompho Kalake (Bantu), Litšepe Marabe (Bantu)

Strikers: Lehlomela Ramabele (Likhopo), Thabiso Brown (Kick4Life), Motlalepula Chabeli (Kick4Life)

Leslie Notši takes over Kick4Life

The new man in charge at Kick4Life...
Leslie Notši 

Leslie Notši has been appointed coach of Vodacom Premier League outfit Kick4Life. Notši was unveiled by the club on Monday. 

The former Lesotho national coach replaces Motlalepula Majoro who left Kick4Life last week. The club will hope Notši can turn their form around. Kick4Life are winless since the start of October and have lost four of their past five matches. They lie eighth in the 14-team league.

Notši will take charge of Kick4Life for the first time on Sunday when they face third-placed Likhopo. 

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