Seabata Mahao
Limkokwing University FC (LUFC) are the overall champions of the A Division League after defeating ACE Maseru FC in the Nedbank Champ of Champs match.
As respective winners of the southern and northern streams of the A Division League, the two recently squared off to determine the ultimate A Division winner.
Both Limkokwing and ACE Maseru have gained promotion from the national A-Division League to the Vodacom Premier League (VPL), and they will start their respective campaigns during the 2023/2024 season.
In the face-off played last weekend, Limkokwing defeated ACE Maseru by 2-0, and in the process walked away with M20 000 courtesy of Nedbank Lesotho.
Ace Maseru got M15 000 as a prize for being runners-up.
Limkokwing’s Thabiso Sesiu scored the first goal during the first half, with Lemohang Lintša adding the second in the second half.
Following the win, Limkokwing coach, Ntlaloe Ntlaloe, said there will be new faces to beef up the squad that sealed promotion to the elite league going into next season.
They plan to stay in the Vodacom Premier League (VPL) for a long time, hence the need to bring in seasoned campaigners who know what it takes to survive in the league.
Ntlaloe said they are currently in negotiations with some of their students already playing in the VPL to join them.
Limkokwing’s win is a sweet revenge over ACE Maseru as the latter recently beat them in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Top 8 Cup, which they went on to lift.
“The last match they played better than us, but this time around we had a lot of time to prepare our play,’’ Ntlaloe said.
“It is a big motivation, they worked hard to be here, it would have been embarrassing that after their hard work, there is nothing to show after leaving A Division.
“We had observed where they are strong and we made sure that Maine, who makes things happen for them, is kept busy. Because he was not able to play, their whole team’s momentum went down and we became dangerous when we had the ball.â€
“There are not many players but there are parts of the team where we need to add. If you look at our goalkeeping, strike force, and even the defence, we need to bring experience and we are looking into the VPL.â€
Meanwhile, a teenage referee Mlungisi Sixishe officiated the match and made history by becoming the youngest referee to officiate a final of an elite match in Lesotho.
He said he was grateful because this was his first time to experience the glare of the spotlight, which he handled well.
Sixishe knows that if he continues to work hard, and with much more dedication, he will develop from being just a history-making teenage referee to a top match official.
“It is a phenomenal feeling honestly; I love the progress I am making so far. It is not a secret that after a match, football players are the ones who get a chance to be in the spotlight therefore this is rare for me,†Sixishe said.
