Moorosi Tsiane
LDF volleyball team assistant coach Lehlohonolo Taela says his side is itching to exact revenge on their hoodoo team Redskins and bring back their glory days.
The army side will face the defending champions, Redskins on Saturday.
Bankrolled by insurance giants Metropolitan Lesotho, the league is played in four quarters with the first quarter of this year being played last weekend in Hlotse.
It is at that same occasion where LDF and Redskins booked their spots in the weekend final.
Taele told the Sunday Express that they are going into the match as a better team this year following their participation in last year’s Zone VI club championships in Durban, South Africa.
“We are still working hard to prepare for our league matches and I must say that there has been serious improvement in our team and the performance was promising. Maybe it comes with the exposure that we got in our participation in the Club Championships last year,” Taele said.
He admitted that Redskins are a dangerous team but said his team is up for the challenge and is willing to claim their number one spot this year.
“There is no doubt that Redskins are a good team with reach history. They have immense experience both locally and internationally but if you look closely, it has always been either them or us but the last time we enjoyed such dominance was in 2012 when we beat them for the whole year and qualified for the Club Championships as number one.
“The morale is high in our team this season and I promise you, Redskins face a tough battle this season,” Taele said.
On his part, Redskins coach Tšepo Raletooane said they are aware of the danger that LDF can pose but said they are also ready for the challenge.
“They are a good team and we know what they can do, they have a potential to give us problems but our aim is to defend the title.
“We have been hard at work in preparations for our league matches but we are also facing some challenges as some of our players are based outside Maseru and it is a challenge for them to come for trainings but we are trying to meet every weekend,” he said.
Raletooane also said he was worried about some of his injured players.
“Another issue is that some of our players have been struggling with injuries,” Raletooane said.
He said at the end of the day, the team that has prepared well will walk away with the win.
“It will all go down to which team prepared better. We played three finals against LDF last year and we won two while they won one. So, that tells you that this is not going to be a walk in a park for any of the two sides,” Raletooane concluded.