Leemisa Thuseho
LIJABATHO have ended Manonyane’s unbeaten start to the season with a narrow 1-0 victory in a midweek catch-up fixture at the Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena yesterday.
Manonyane, who had played to a goalless draw against LDF on Saturday, went into the match hoping to upset the defending champions.
They showed no fear from the first whistle, taking the game to Lijabatho and matching them in the opening exchanges.
However, Lijabatho broke the deadlock in the 15th minute when man of the match, Teboho Masuoane, rose to head home the opener.
Three minutes later, experienced utility player, Fidel Ntoya, had a chance to restore parity, but his header from a corner kick sailed wide.
Manonyane struggled to create clear-cut chances thereafter, while Lijabatho continued pushing for a second goal.
But Manonyane goalkeeper, Katleho Mathetsa, who also turns out for the Makoanyane XI, kept his team in the contest with a series of good saves.
A minute into the second half, Lijabatho created another opportunity, but Jane Thabantšo’s effort was comfortably dealt with by Mathetsa.
Moments later, the goalkeeper was again called into action, producing a brilliant save to deny Bokang Sello.
Although Lijabatho continued to look the more likely side to score, Manonyane showed resilience and fighting spirit despite lacking sharpness in the final third.
Their inexperience in attack appeared to contribute to their failure to seriously test the Lijabatho defence.
Just after the hour mark, Lijabatho were awarded a penalty after Masuoane was brought down by Ntoya inside the box.
Thabantšo stepped up to take the spot-kick, but Mathetsa kept him out from the initial effort and then made another save from the rebound.
Mathetsa and Thabantšo are former teammates at Matlama.
The second half produced no further goals as Lijabatho held on for a 1-0 victory, ending Manonyane’s unbeaten run after four matches.
The win was Lijabatho’s second in four games.
The defending champions climbed from 10th to sixth place on the log, while Manonyane slipped from sixth to seventh. Lijabatho now have eight points, with Manonyane on six.
Lijabatho assistant coach Tiisetso Molete admitted that his team had not produced its best performance despite securing the three points.
“Ya, we won, but we did not play according to the plan. One could see that we had to adjust our formation during the game because things were not going as expected,” Molete said.
Molete said injuries had also affected the team, particularly among players who featured for the club in the CAF Champions League last month.
“We are without a number of players due to injuries. Most of the players we used today are those who did not feature in the CAF Champions League,” he said.
“Another thing is that we played with high intensity in our last game against Lioli on Saturday.”
Manonyane assistant coach Motšoane Lepheana, meanwhile, blamed defensive mistakes for the defeat but was pleased that his side managed to contain the champions after conceding early.
“We wanted three points, but we were punished for our mistakes. Our backline performance was not up to par, as one of our centre-backs even caused the penalty,” Lepheana said.
“The positive thing to take home is that we contained a team of Lijabatho’s calibre and denied them the opportunity to score more than one goal.”
Lijabatho will next face Members on Sunday at the Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena, while Manonyane travel to Maputsoe to face Linare at the Saxophone Thejane Technical Centre.
