Pascalinah Kabi

MASERU — Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) are scheduled to leave Maseru for Harare tomorrow for their do-or-die encounter against Zimbabwe champions Dynamos in a Caf Champions League preliminary round tie on Saturday.
But it looks like all is not well within the LCS camp after the club bizarrely accused the Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) of “failing to organise friendly matches for them”.
Lefa has however dismissed the claims as nonsense.
LCS captain, Khoto Sesinyi, flanked by the club’s manager Sempe Makoetlane and coach Mosholi “Shoes” Mokhothu, told a media briefing on Friday he was not happy with the way Lefa had handled its preparations for this match.
“The team has been training very hard but I am not happy that our preparations were not that good,” Sesinyi said.
He said Lefa had failed to secure friendly international friendly matches for LCS.
He added they would have preferred to play clubs playing similar football to Dynamos.
“Lefa as the mother body was supposed to ensure that we played international friendly matches but that didn’t happen because they failed to secure matches for us,” he said.
He said the team management wanted the team to have at least six international friendly matches ahead of this tie but failed because of limited resources.
“We expected to have friendly matches against teams that play a similar style of football to our Saturday opponent — they believe in speed and physique but we didn’t even have a single friendly match of that nature,” he said.
“Our expectations and hopes are to come back with a victory from Zimbabwe but it would have been better if we had at least one international friendly from a team from central Africa,” he said.
LCS go into Saturday’s match seriously short of match practise after the Premier League Management Committee postponed the start of the second round of league matches until after the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in South Africa. The tournament ends tonight
A four-team cross-border tournament that had been scheduled to help keep LCS in shape also failed to materialise throwing the club’s preparations into turmoil.
Mokhothu thanked the club’s main sponsor — Alliance Insurance — after they donated a new M60 000 soccer kit.
“We are happy that we will arrive in Zimbabwe dressed like a real team and we promise to bring back the desired results,” Mokhothu said.
“We are leaving knowing that people have not given us a chance but we will surprise them by bringing back unexpected results,” he said.
Asked for their response to the charge, Lefa public relations officer, Thabo Maretlane, told the Sunday Express it is the duty of the each team to source international friendly matches.
“It is the responsibility of each team to look for friendly matches when it is preparing for international matches,” Maretlane said yesterday.

Probable LCS line-up:
Seabata Mothepu, Phasumane Kholuoane, Sam Ketsekile, Mohapi Ntobo (vice captain), Poloko Mohale, Likano Teele, Selebalo Moshoeshoe, Tsepo George, Khoto Sesinyi (captain), Tseliso Khali, Molefe Lereko, Katleho Lethabela, Lieta Lehloka, Kutloisiso Nthoanyane, Ralekoti Mokhahlane, Thulo Ranchonbe, Motlatsi Rantja and Rankara Thabane.