The rise and rise of Katleho Makateng
Lesotho forward Katleho Makateng is once again hogging the headlines for the right reasons after playing a starring role in Likuena’s 2-1 victory over Malawi in their opening match of the 2022 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup.
The 23-year-old took the Lesotho Vodacom Premier League by storm this past season scoring a whopping 20 goals in his first campaign playing topflight football in the Mountain Kingdom.
His exploits saw him walk away with four major accolades in the recent end of the season awards ceremony. The hitman introduced himself with a bang on the international stage scoring a brace as he won his second cap for Lesotho in the 3-1 victory over Seychelles in March.
Makateng was unlucky not to register a brace on Wednesday making his debut at the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup. Lesotho’s first goal against Malawi came from his low shot that deflected on defender Sankhani Mkandawire and was registered as an own goal.
The striker finally opened his account at the ongoing regional tournament in the 56th minute, scoring the second goal to help Likuena walk away with all the three points.
“I’m very excited with the contribution I made to help my country start the tournament on a high note with a victory over Malawi,” Makateng said.
“It’s not every day that a player gets such an accolade playing in an international competition. For me it’s a reward to appreciate a good performance and hard work.”
Makateng’s aim coming to the COSAFA Cup was to continue his impressive rise and is over the moon to have hit the ground running on the international stage.
“The plan coming to the COSAFA Cup was to work hard and continue scoring goals to help my country do well at the tournament,” the Lesotho hitman adds.
“Scoring my first goal against Seychelles in March gave me confidence that I can do it for my country as well on the bigger stage.
“I’m very excited and humbled that I managed to score playing my first game at the COSAFA Cup. It was a very special moment for me and winning the match was cherry on top,” he said.
