MASERU — Lesotho Correctional Service Football Club (LCS) are on course to retain their Vodacom Premier League title after they picked up maximum points during the Easter holidays.
Masheshena — as LCS are affectionately known — first beat Majantja 3-2 on Good Friday before thrashing Mpharane Celtics 1-0 on Sunday.
The two crucial victories cemented LCS’ grip on the log. They now have 37 points from 18 league matches, four points ahead of second-placed Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) who only managed to collect three points from their two Easter matches.
LDF won its Friday match against Matlama 2-0 before losing to relegation candidates Linare 3-2 on Sunday.
LCS have four remaining games against Bantu, Joy, Maduma and Matlama.
LCS host Maduma and Matlama at home and given that they have never lost any home matches since the beginning of the league, Masheshena will surely collect maximum points.
LCS coach, Mosholi “Shoes” Mokhothu told the Lesotho Times on Tuesday he is happy with his team’s performance.
“I am satisfied with our performance but our fitness was exposed this past week and it is something we seriously need to work on as we face Bantu this weekend,” Mokhothu said.
He said his players suffered from fatigue because they played two league matches in one weekend.
“Our poor fitness was caused by playing two league matches in one weekend and given that it was a long one, we needed to have been in camp.”
Mokhothu said he was going to work on the players’ fitness this week as they prepare for an away match against Bantu on Sunday.
He however said they were going to introduce a “high tempo football” against Bantu as they continue their campaign to retain the title.
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“Our immediate assignment right now is the weekend match against Bantu. Since we’ve been playing a 50/50 game against them for most of the time, we are now going to introduce (a high tempo) football so that we don’t give them any chance to play.
“We need to play a fast-paced and more attacking game against them to ensure that we either win or draw,” Mokhothu said.
The other three games would be based on mathematics rather than collecting maximum points.
“Right now we are not concerned about collecting maximum points in all four remaining points but we are now working on it mathematically.
“If we collect maximum points in one of the four remaining matches and draw in all three matches, we will be crowned league champions,” he said.
He added that morale was high within the Masheshena camp.
The reigning champions have four league titles under their belt.
They are the third most successful team in the country after Matlama and Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) respectively.
Weekend fixtures:
Saturday: Joy vs Linare (Leribe Pitso Ground), Lioli vs Maduma (Teyateyaneng) and Likhopo vs LDF (Ratjomose).
Sunday: Mpharane Celtics vs LMPS (St Michaels), Majantja vs Matlama (Mohale’s Hoek) and Bantu vs LCS (Mafeteng).