Lesotho, South Africa junior teams face-off in friendly matches
Lesotho and South Africa Under 17 and Under-20 national teams will face each other in two friendly games scheduled for Maseru and Johannesburg on Friday and Sunday respectively.
The matches forms part of Makoanyane XI and Bahlabani preparations for the CAF Under-20 and Uder-17 Africa Cup of Nations/ COSAFA Qualifiers slated for September and December respectively.
“Makoanyane XI”, as the Lesotho Under-20 side is affectionately known, will welcome South Africa’s Amajita at Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena with the first match on Friday set for 15h00.
Meanwhile, South Africa will play host to the Lesotho Under-17 team as the two countries battle it out at UJ Stadium in Soweto with the first match scheduled for Friday 16th at 15h00.
Makoanyane XI coach Halemakale Mahlaha has 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 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 the higher level in and outside the country will play a key role in grinding positive results against Amajita.
Meanwhile, Bahlabani coach Sidwell Mothea stated that playing Amajimbos will be a different challenge to the matches played thus 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.
