By Moorosi Tsiane
MASERU- Lioli on Sunday face one of their biggest tests when they host Angolan giants Premiero de Agosto in the reverse fixture of the 2014 African Champions League preliminary round at the Setsoto Stadium.
The Teyateyaneng-based side went down 2-0 in the first-leg tie played in Luanda last Saturday, and need to score three unanswered goals at Setsoto to advance to the next stage of the continental showcase.
On Tuesday this week, the team was buzzing with confidence, insisting the 2-0 score-line in Luanda did not give a true reflection of what really transpired on the pitch.
According to assistant coach, Thabile Secker, while Premiero are a good side, the 10-time Angolan league champions only managed to beat Lioli through “surprise”.
“We have been working hard on our finishing because we had a bit of a problem in that department in our past match. We created lot of scoring opportunities but our finishing let us down,” Secker said.
“But the main reason why we lost in Luanda was Agosto caught us off-guard and scored an early goal, which they defended well before adding a second. But come Sunday, it will be a different ball-game altogether as the players have shown great determination to win and advance to the next stage of the competition.
“Our performance was so outstanding in Luanda Premiero only won through the element of surprise. But we are confident we will score the required goals here at home and make it to the next stage of the competition.”
Secker said preparations for Sunday’s blood-and-thunder clash are going smoothly although lack of high-tech training facilities remains a challenge.
Speaking about the advantage and disadvantage of playing at home, Secker said:“ It’s true we will be having home-ground advantage, but it is still not going to be a walk-in-the-park. The players will have to double their efforts to secure a win, because we will be facing very seasoned opponents in Premiero de Agosto.”
Team-captain, Shetsane Ramoseeka, on his part, urged fans to come to Setsoto in their numbers to give the players the much-needed morale-boost.
“The boys are in high spirits and we have fully recovered from our loss and looking forward to Sunday’s match. I am confident we will score the needed goals and advance to the next round of the competition at the expense of Premiero de Agosto,” said Ramoseeka.
Ramoseeka however, warned the Angolans are dangerous adversaries who are very good at winning aerial challenges.
“They are very good in the air, but we have since worked on this deficiency. I am confident we can close them down in the return leg and not allow them the space to flight crosses into the penalty-box, where they suddenly become a threat.”
Striker Tšepo Lekhooana, on the other hand, said playing for big teams such as Lioli always comes with great expectations, hence the pressure to win come Sunday.
“There is always pressure when you are with a team of Lioli’s calibre. We have a huge fan-base that expects us to fight when we go out there on the park, and we will try our best on Sunday. We only ask the nation to rally behind us and give us that morale-support we desperately need against Premiero de Agosto.”
