Pascalinah Kabi

MASERU — Lesotho’s Under-20s football team are back home after they were eliminated from the Zone Youth VI Games on Thursday thanks to a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Zambia.

The loss added salt to injury after Lesotho lost 2-0 to Angola on Wednesday at the regional championships in Swaziland.

Makoanyane XI had beaten Mozambique 2-1 in their first group game on Tuesday.

But the subsequent defeats to Zambia and Angola saw Lesotho finishing outside the group’s two qualifying positions.

It was the second successive week that Makoanyane XI were knocked out in the group stages after they suffered a similar fate at the Metropolitan Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championships in Botswana.

However, unlike the squad in Botswana, the side in Swaziland was without the talents of Lehlomela Ramabele, Tsebang Lebata, Litšepe Marabe, Thabiso Mohapi, Motiki Mohale and Tumisang Bereng.

They along with impact player Mosiuoa Boseka were rested after a tough year.

These players were first-team regulars during Lesotho’s qualification for next year’s African Youth Championship.

Nevertheless the results of the past fortnight are sure to have the Lesotho Football Association (Lefa) and the nation worried about the team’s readiness for the African Youth Championship in Libya.

According to reports from Swaziland, on Thursday Makoanyane XI spent the first half chasing the shadows of their Zambian opponents.

Makoanyane XI conceded all four goals during a first half in which they struggled to match their opponents’ standards.

After a tongue-lashing by coach Leslie Notši during the break, Makoanyane XI did manage to compose themselves and fire back at the Zambians but poor finishing scuppered any hopes of a comeback.

However, speaking to the Sunday Express on Friday, Notši insisted there was no need to panic ahead of the continental showpiece next March.

“This is not good for our team and the country as well but I would not say I am worried because I don’t want to put myself and the boys under pressure,” Notši said from Swaziland.

“Can one be a bad player or a bad coach after being defeated once or twice?”

Notši though admitted the first-half performance against Zambia was unacceptable.

“The first half was terrible, it was really bad,” he said.

“Our central defence was paralysed, allowing the opponents to score all their four goals in the first half.”

Notši said the tournament was a lesson for both the players and the technical team as they prepare for the Libya challenge.

“It was a good lesson and we managed to outline certain areas that need immediate attention if we want to perform well in Libya,” he said.

“The signs that we are in the right direction are there but this was not a very good performance at all.”

Notši said they would go back to the drawing board and stress the importance of scoring every time an opportunity avails itself.

“In Botswana we learnt that the team failed to go forward and we must stress that goals are very important in a competition,” he said.

“Here in Swaziland there are many things that we must make sure that the boys learn as we expose them to international football.”