Butha-Buthe Warriors taught a lesson

Luciah Phahla

Maseru – Butha-Buthe Warriors coach Motlatsi Thilinyane says his charges have learned from last Saturday’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Kick4Life.

The newly-promoted Vodacom Premier League side suffered the embarrassing defeat at the Lesotho Correctional Service grounds and already find themselves rooted to the bottom of the league with no points from two games.

Warriors also lost 2-1 to Matlama in their opening game of the season three weeks ago.

However, despite a bleak start that is already raising questions on Warriors’ survival chances, Thilinyane remains buoyant.

“We learnt a lesson,” he told thepost on Tuesday. “If you look at the log, we are at the bottom but that is not a bad position because this is the beginning. A draw or a win in our next game can change everything because the players will be motivated.”

That next game will not be easy, however.

Warriors will face another daunting task in their introduction to the top-flight when they travel to Mafeteng to face in-form Bantu on Saturday.

‘A Matšo Matebele’ have a perfect record after two games and only trail leaders Kick4Life on goal difference.

But despite the odds, Thilinyane believes Saturday’s game represents an opportunity for Warriors to jump-start their campaign.

“I have not given up and I see light at the end of the tunnel. I believe the Bantu game is a different game altogether,” he asserted.

“When I arrived at the club (last year) they were struggling and I made few changes here and there. We did well and the players started dreaming about winning promotion (to the premier league) because they were now confident so the Bantu game can change everything for us. If we can score one goal that will bring confidence to the players,” Thilinyane said.

Thilinyane admitted losing the first two games is not ideal but insisted he is not panicking because he has experienced a similar situation before.

“It worries me as a coach that we have lost two matches but normally after three or four games things change,” he said.

“I was in this situation before in 2006 with Joy. We lost five games consecutively and after that I remember we won our first game against Likhopo, then we beat Lioli and everything changed. So I am not giving up.”

Warriors along with Likhopo, Linare and Rovers are the only sides yet to collect a point this season and the Butha-Buthe side’s display against Kick4Life was especially disappointing given their spirited performance against Matlama on the opening weekend.

Thilinyane blamed enforced changes to the Warriors’ line-up for the capitulation against Kick4Life.

He also pin-pointed a lack of experience as a concern and said his charges are still adjusting to the standard of play in the premiership.

“The problem is I have lot of inexperienced players, the change (to the Vodacom Premier League) has affected them,” Thilinyane said.

“I don’t think Kick4Life were better than us but the level of the game was too high for the players. I made changes to the side that played Matlama because most of my players went to graduations and had to give others chance.”