Lesotho Football Association Lesotho U15 produced a spirited fightback to beat Tahiti U15 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw at the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival in Azerbaijan.
In what was their second match of the day, the boys from the Mountain Kingdom, bounced back from an earlier 1-0 defeat to Sierra Leone in the Round of 32 of Tier 4, to seal a memorable win on the world stage.
Against Tahiti, Lesotho trailed early as the Pacific side scored the first goal of the match, but the Mahlomola Matšoara’s coached side responded through Thapelo Pitsi to level matters. Tahiti then regained the lead before Pheko Matošara equalized again to make it 2-2 at the break.
In the second half, Lesotho came back the stronger of the two teams and were rewarded when Tšepo Khoaese fired them ahead for the first time in the match, making it 3-2.
However, Tahiti snatched a late goal to force a 3-3 draw in a six-goal thriller. The match headed to a penalty shootout, where Lesotho held their nerve to clinch a 5-4 win after goalkeeper Pheello Ramokuena saved the decisive penalty to give his country the victory.
The win sees Lesotho advance to play Bahrain in the Tier 4 Bottom 16 quarterfinals.
