The Likuena midfield kingpin with a passion for accounts
Likuena midfielder, Lehlohonolo Matsau had quietly been going on with his business playing for the Army side, LDF FC when he caught the attention of the national team head coach, Veselin Jelusic.
It did not take the Serbia-born coach long to realise the need to include Matsau in his final squad for the COSAFA Cup.
The midfielder didn’t disappoint making his debut in the 2-1 victory over Mauritius in their second match at the tournament bagging an assist as Tumelo Makha put Likuena ahead in just the tenth 10th minute of the match.
He was among new faces in the Likuena squad who made their maiden appearance at the regional tournament, but others such as Katleho Makateng, Lemohang Lintṧa were already enjoying a lot of publicity due to their exploits in front of goals.
“To tell the truth, I felt nervous when I realised that I’m in the starting line up and in line to win my first cap, but at the same time I was so honestly happy,” the midfielder says.
“I’m a simple village boy from the outskirts of Mohale’s Hoek and it has always been my dream to play for the national team. Getting an assist on my debut was just a cherry on top because honestly I wanted to announce my arrival with a goal.”
Matsau’s career started at his home team Likoche FC from Pela Tṧoeu in the outskirts of Mohale’s Hoek. He then moved to Majantja, who were playing in the A Division, but his stay at the club was short lived as he joined Rovers, when he entered the National University of Lesotho (NUL), to study for a BCom in Accounting.
“My football journey started at Likoche FC before moving to Majantja, who were campaigning in the A Division, but I didn’t play many games there because I soon joined Rovers when I went to study at NUL,” he says.
“if my memory serves me well, my first season playing topflight football was during the 2016/17 season with Rovers, unfortunately I couldn’t continue with my studies due to personal issues.”
The 25-year-old still dreams about returning to varsity to complete his studies.
“It’s my dream to bag that degree and I will return to varsity someday. I was prepared to go back to school in January 2020, but when the army held its recruitment interviews, I attended them,” the midfielder says
“My application succeeded, and I enrolled in the army in December 2019. Immediately after the pass out, I joined the army side, LDF FC but I missed about three to four opening games of the season,” he said.
While Matsau is now focused on establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the league, having caught the attention of Jelusic, he, however, hasn’t completely forgotten about his studies as he knows they will come quite handy after he has hangs up his soccer boots one day.
“Football is my life, but I feel it needs some bolstering since it’s a short career. I always loved accounting that’s why I enrolled in BCom in Accounting at NUL. I have always been very good in accounts from my high school days,” the midfielder states.
After helping LDF finish second behind Matlama in the 2020/2021 season, the Mohale’s Hoek born midfield kingpin is adamant the army side can compete for honours in the domestic league.
He also has his eyes on stamping his authoring in the national team and help Likuena realise their dream of clinching the COSAFA Cup.
“I want to win the Vodacom Premier League with my team especially after coming close in the previous season and with the national team, it would be a dream come true to hold the COSAFA Cup trophy since that is where champions are made. It could really boost our confidence to win the cup and look at qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations,” he says.
The midfielder admitted that the Likuena camp was heartbroken after their promising campaign at the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup ended in the group stage after beating Malawi and Mauritius. They only needed a draw against Eswatini to win the group but lost the match 2-0 to their Kingdom counterparts advancing to the quarterfinal.
“It was heart-breaking for the whole team given how we started the tournament and of course the good progress the team had made having frustrated a powerhouse like Cote D’voire in their recent Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier,” Matsau concludes.
