
Moorosi Tsiane
FORMER Likuena captain, Tšepo Hlojeng has appealed for patience, saying while the senior football team was improving, it could not be expected to achieve success overnight.
Hlojeng said this in the wake of Lesotho’s semifinal exit at the Council of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) tournament after losing 3-4 to Zimbabwe on Wednesday night in South Africa.
Likuena had booked a semifinal spot after defeating Namibia 5-4 in penalties last Saturday.
Hlojeng, who captained Likuena to the 2000 COSAFA final where they succumbed to Zimbabwe, recently told the Sunday Express that building a competitive team took time.
He said it would only be fair to first give the players more time before judging them.
“The team showed a much improved performance in the match against Zimbabwe compared to their first match with Namibia and I was impressed as that showed that we learnt something from the first game,” Hlojeng said.
“In the first match we struggled to go forward but they worked on it and against Zimbabwe we attacked but unfortunately our backline was exposed.
“Most of the players have age on their side and I urge the nation to be patient with them because success is not achieved overnight
“Let’s give them at least four years playing together then we can judge them,” Hlojeng said.
The Likhopo coach said time and experience helped their class to reach the finals in 2000.
“That team had played together for a long time and understood each other as well as the coach’s demands. That is why we managed to reach the final in 2000,” he said.
He said the only way to test the players was to take them to such tournaments because Lesotho did not have a professional league.