By Moorosi Tsiane
MASERU- Gangling Lioli striker, Nkoto Masoabi was ecstatic after his six goals helped Lioli win the 2014 Lesotho National Insurance Group Top 8 tournament last weekend.
Masoabi, who joined the Teyateyaneng side from Liphakoe at the beginning of this season, was the competition’s top scorer with four of the goals coming in the semifinal against LDF.
In the final, Masoabi joined Bushy Moletsane and Jeremiah Kamele on the score-sheet as Lioli thrashed Linare 3-0 to claim the M40 000 winners’ cheque.
After the tournament played at Setsoto Stadium, the dreadlocked hitman attributed his goal-fest to hard work and determination.
“It was all down to determination and hard work; I have been working extremely hard at training as this is where everything starts,” Masoabi humbly said.
One thing he sought to achieve when joining Lioli was to win trophies and help the team defend the league title, the striker added.
“I joined Lioli to win trophies and I am glad that my goal-scoring abilities have helped the team win the Top 8 tournament.”
The left-footed forward thanked his teammates, without whom he said he would not have scored the six goals.
“It was down to team-work and a great understanding among the players, which saw us put up such a display. Without unity in the team, such a good performance wouldn’t have been possible,” said Masoabi, who also leads the Premier League scoring charts with 13 goals.
Lioli coach Mosholu ‘Shoes’ Mokhothu, on the other hand, hailed Masoabi’s performance, adding however, that there is still room for improvement.
“He is such a good player, but we don’t want to put him under too much pressure because he is still young and growing in football,” Mokhothu said.
The former LCS coach, who led the correctional service side to consecutive league titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12, also credited Lioli’s Top 8 feat to the team’s participation in the African Champions League early this month.
“Our participation in the Champions League (against Primeiro de Agosto of Angola) is now starting to bear fruit. Although we did not qualify for the next round of the championship after losing 3-2, the players gained valuable experience and managed to keep that momentum coming into this tournament.”
The tournament second placed Linare won M30 000 while LDF and LCS came out third and fourth placed to pocket M25 000 and M20 000 respectively.
