Lesotho and South Africa’s Under-17 and Under-20 national teams will face each other in friendly games scheduled for tomorrow and Sunday in Maseru and Johannesburg respectively. The matches form part of Bahlabani and Makoanyane XI’s preparations for the CAF Under-17 and Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations/COSAFA qualifiers slated for September and December respectively.
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“Makoanyane XI”, as the Lesotho Under-20 side is affectionately known, will welcome South Africa’s Amajita to Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena with the first match to be played tomorrow at 3pm and the second game on Sunday afternoon.
In a reversal of hosts, South Africa’s Under-17 will play host to Bahlabani at the University of Johannesburg Stadium in Soweto tomorrow and on Sunday.
Makoanyane XI coach Halemakale Mahlaha welcomed the matches against South Africa and believes it will be a good test ahead of the tournament slated for Eswatini.
“Let me first thank the (Lesotho Football) Association for affording us this opportunity to test our team against a very strong South African side,” Mahlaha said.
“We still have a bit of time before the tournament, and I have no doubt that these two matches will give us a picture of how far we have gone in our preparations.”
Mahlaha is adamant the likes of Leluma Mofoka, Paseka Maile and Malefetsane Tomako, who have already tasted playing at higher level in and outside the country, will play a key role in grinding out positive results against Amajita.
Meanwhile, Bahlabani coach Sidwell Mothea said playing against their South African counterparts “Amajimbos” will be a different challenge to the matches they have played so far in their preparations.
“The two matches are very important in our preparations leading to the COSAFA tournament because we are still a work in progress,” Mothea said.
“I have seen a lot of improvements after our recent games in Bloemfontein and Durban, but I feel like playing South Africa will be a different ball game altogether.
“They play with high intensity and have a lot of individual brilliance in their team, which will be a good test to our players to test our readiness before heading to the tournament,” he said.–LEFA
