We’ve a base to build on, says Motene

PORT ELIZABETH – The president of the Lesotho Women’s Football Executive Committee, Baholo Motene, has heaped praises on the women’s senior national team, Mehalalitoe.

Mehalalitoe are fresh off a promising display at the 2022 COSAFA Women’s Championship in South Africa and Motene said the team’s performances showed growth and all the players need now is more game-time and international experience.

Because of Lesotho’s previous performances at the regional showpiece, no one had given Mehalalitoe much of a chance but they exceeded all expectations and surprised many.

Lesotho beat Eswatini 3-0 in their opener and then put up highly competitive displays against Namibia and Zambia who are headed to the FIFA Women’s World Cup next year.

Motene, a former Lesotho international herself, said Mehalalitoe’s displays have laid the groundwork for the players to return home and continue growing women’s football in the country.

Motene also praised the presence of Lesotho’s six South Africa based players whom she said brought experience and know-how that helped their teammates.

Lesotho’s South Africa based players:

Litšeoane Maloro (TUT), Boitumelo Rabale (Mamelodi Sundowns), Boitumelo Nkeane (Inter Madrid), ‘Mamakhabane Makibinyane (Diepkloof Ladies), Kefuoe Makoa (Inter Madrid), Mosili Motsoeneng (Royal AM)

The team’s preparations also helped.

Unlike is often the case with Lesotho’s sports teams, Mehalalitoe’s preparations were well prepared and well executed.

Mehalalitoe started practicing as early as April by training three times a week with locally based players under coach Pule Khojane.

The only challenge Khojane and the team faced was getting international friendly games to get ready for the tournament.

Ultimately, Lesotho never got the chance to play matches against other countries but the team did source games against clubs in South Africa which proved helpful.

“When we were supposed to play against the national teams, the countries we wanted to play against were busy,” Motene said.

“When we were approaching the COSAFA (Cup) we agreed with those countries but then we found out that we are in the same group with them,” she added.

Motene is encouraged by the improvements the team showed in Gqeberha where the championship was held.

Previously, Mehalalitoe were not only leaking goals like a sieve in defence, but they were not scoring either.
They may have only been able to score in one game this year but that alone was a giant step in the right direction for a team that had not scored a goal since September 2018 in a match against Mozambique.

“The way I saw the coaches, they were right,” Motene said of the team’s preparations.

“They also got everything they needed with the help of (the Lesotho Football Association), and we had their support until we called our internationals. The arrival of the South African based players boosted our camp because their league is higher, the experience they have helped us that we managed to get three points from Eswatini,” she added.

Motene continued: “Zambia is too strong for us, they just came back from (the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations where they finished third), they went to the Olympics and they are now on the journey to the World Cup.

We haven’t played since 2020. We come back with three points and having conceded nine overall, there is growth we just need more game time.”

Motene said she believes there are more areas of the team to work on and improve, including some tactical work for the coaches.

Mehalalitoe head coach Pule Khojane, called a totally different squad to the one that was humiliated in 2020 at the COSAFA Women’s Championship. Although he recalled some players and the squad is still heavily dominated by Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) players, this new Mehalalitoe squad is a young team that now needs to stick together and grow.

Tlalane Phahla