MASERU — FC Likhopo moved clear from the relegation zone when they edged Mpharane Celtics 1-0 on Sunday a victory the club said could point to better times ahead.
FC Likhopo had been struggling since the season began last August and had remained stuck in the relegation zone for the better part of the season.
The club only tasted their first league victory in January.
Until Sunday’s victory, Likhopo together with Majantja, had remained firm favourites for relegation.
But with the victory over Celtics Likhopo are now in position 10, two positions from the bottom.
They now have 16 points after four wins, four draws and eight losses.
Likhopo however must not be fooled by their current mini-revival as they still need to tread cautiously if they are to secure their premier league status.
Another club that has found itself in the mire is Linare who must go back to the drawing board and set their goals and ambitions straight.
The Leribe-outfit last tasted league victory in 1980 and for a district team that might be relegated this is surely embarrassing.
Linare have not collected silverware in 32 years. Despite participating in almost every competition the club has nothing to show for it.
The Greens have competed in the Vodacom Soccer Spectacular, Independence Cup and Top Four tournament in recent years.
Linare coach Pitso Mosothoane said it was a worrying factor his team had failed to collect any silverware despite their consistency.
“It is only a dead person who would not be worried about Linare’s status in domestic football,” Mosothoane said on Tuesday.
He said they were having sleepless nights trying to find a solution to their continued poor performance.
He added that the team was failing to score and this was worrying, not only to Linare but all the other teams in the country.
“There are times that we lose because we failed to score goals not because our opponents were stronger than us,” he said.
Mosothoane said Linare’s status on the Vodacom Premier League log after the 2-1 loss against defending champions Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) had put them under more pressure.
Linare are now in 11th position with 15 points after four wins, three draws and nine losses after 16 games.
“The pressure is mounting on both the players and technical team and we are just working hard to ensure that it does not affect players,” Mosothoane said.
“Our job as a technical team is to ensure that players’ minds are stable and they go into the game with clear minds.”
Although pressure was mounting on the Leribe outfit, they were not going to press panic buttons as yet.
“The ship has not sunk as of now, it’s just taking a dangerous route and we are going to work hard to ensure that we are not relegated at the end of the season,” he said.
Weekend Fixture
Saturday: Lioli vs Joy (Teyateyaneng), LCS vs LMPS (Central Prisons) and Majantja (Mohale’s Hoek).
Sunday: Linare vs Matlama (Hlotse), Maduma vs LDF (Khukhune) and Bantu vs Likhopo (Mafeteng).
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