By Moorosi Tsiane
MASERU — Premier League leaders Bantu are confident of collecting maximum points when they face Linare in a potential title-decider at LCS Ground this afternoon.
A Matšo Matebele, as Bantu are affectionately known, only need three points to win their maiden Premier League title and head-coach Motlatsi Shale is targeting a win against third-placed Linare, who are also hoping to win the championship.
Shale on Monday told the Lesotho Times that there is no stopping his charges now that the title is within touching distance.
“Linare are a good side and have been playing well this season, but we are not prepared to drop points — not at this stage of the competition,” Shale said.
The Mafeteng-based Bantu lead the 14-team Premiership with 52 points, with second-placed Lioli and Linare, who occupy third spot, both on 45 points.
A Matšo Matebele are now left with four matches before they wind-up their 2013/14 Premier League campaign, while Linare and Lioli both have three fixtures to go.
However, Shale is so confident of winning domestic football’s biggest prize he has all-but ruled out any chance of Lioli and Linare causing an upset and claiming the title.
“Morale is very high in camp and all the players are determined to finish the job. There is no more pressure now because the teams that we were competing with, Lioli and Linare, are no longer that much of a threat; their chances of winning the title are now slim,” said Shale.
However, Linare coach, Freese Ntene, has warned Bantu that the upcoming tie would not be easy.
“I know it will not be easy playing Bantu because of the position they are in, but we are looking at upsetting them and becoming the first team to beat them in a league match this season,” said Ntene.
“This will be a real war; it’s a must-win tie for us because a loss would mean that we are totally out of the title-race since they would now be at 55 points, while for us, the maximum points we could then possibly reach by winning the rest of the matches would be 54. But we will not let that happen; we are prepared to take the title-race to the wire,” Ntene said.
Meanwhile, Linare come into today’s match on the back of two consecutive draws — against Matlama and LDF — while Bantu last played competitively a fortnight ago when they thrashed Mpharane Celtics 8-1. Bantu’s match against Joy was suspended last weekend to accommodate the funeral of the late Joy president, Dr Knight.
According to Ntene, this is a very crucial stage of the season where every team has something to fight for, hence the matches come with a lot of pressure.
“We have reached a very critical stage of the season where you can never predict the outcome of a match. That is why we need to work on the players’ mentality so that they remain focused, which they seemed to lose after our draw against Matlama two weeks ago,” said Ntene, who also revealed his team would be without defender Lebohang Matamane in today’s tie, due to injury.
Elsewhere, in other Prremier League matches set for today, LDF will host Matlama at Ha Ratjomose, Nyenye Rovers are set to entertain Qoaling Highlanders at St.Monicas, and LCS will welcome Melele while Lioli will face a stiff competition of Joy in a match scheduled for PTC Ground.
