Fokothi midfielder Lisema Lebokollane pushes with the ball
Moorosi Tsiane
THE battle lines have been drawn ahead of this afternoon’s A division Top8 semifinal tie where Lerotholi Polytechnic will be hoping for a first win in two seasons over North stream rivals, Galaxy at Bambatha Sports Arena.
The Naleli Tšilo coached outfit last Saturday beat Roma Boys 2-1 to book their semifinal place while Galaxy hammered Van Rooyen United 3-0 on Sunday.
Lerotholi last beat Galaxy in the 2014/15 season 2-1 and 3-2 respectively to collect all six points.
Since then, Galaxy has won three of four meetings drawing only once last season.
Tšilo this week told the Lesotho Times that it was payback time and his charges were ready for their rivals.
“They have had an upper hand but it is also important to note that my team changes almost every season because they are students,” Tšilo said adding, “but that is not an excuse and it is payback time”.
“We are the underdogs and I like that because it somehow eases the pressure. But we need to work hard if we are to beat them and book a spot in the final on Saturday.
“This was one of our best seasons and were just unfortunate that we lost out on the promotion to premier league and the first team to beat us this season was Galaxy. This is our chance to avenge and take this title just to end our long trophy drought,” he said.
For his part, Galaxy coach Thabang Busa said the tie would boil down to which would be the mentally stronger of the two teams.
“It is one of those matches that will test both teams mentally so the stronger team will win the tie.
“We are just going to play our normal game according to our strengths and our style. It is not going to be easy but we are ready,” he said.
He said it was worth noting that he had never lost to Lerotholi “and I am not planning on losing that record anytime soon”.
He said the fact that he played for Lerotholi gave him an upper hand somehow as he was familiar with their culture.
“I played for them and was even captain so that says I know a lot about them because some of the technical team members were there during my playing days.
“So I know their style and hopefully that will work to our advantage. We should also pack our midfield because that is their strong point where they have very good players,” Busa said.
In the second semifinal, South stream champions Majantja lock horns with runners up Swallows also at Bambatha.
