{"id":20939,"date":"2022-10-26T12:17:39","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T12:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies"},"modified":"2022-10-26T12:44:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T12:44:35","slug":"perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies","title":{"rendered":"Perfect start for LDF Ladies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>When Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Ladies and Kick4Life Ladies were pitted against each other in the semi-finals of last weekend\u2019s Women Super League (WSL) Top 4, many thought it was a match worthy of the final.<\/p>\n

The two are heavyweights of women\u2019s football in the country and sparks always fly when they meet \u2013 even a pre-season outing is a chance for them to get one over the other.<\/p>\n

The edge in the sides\u2019 recent meetings had been with LDF and when the teams met last Saturday at the Bambatha Ts\u030cita Sports Arena, the army side proved why they are queens of the WSL as they got the better of their rivals once more.<\/p>\n

Kick4Life, who went into the season curtain-raiser hoping to make a statement, started the semi-final tie well and briefly looked like they would open the scoring but their indecisiveness in front of goals denied them the fast start they craved.<\/p>\n

They were duly punished when Lesotho international striker Nts\u030cabeng Pelea gave LDF the lead, and although Morakane Mokhothu levelled matters for Kick4Life in the 32nd minute, Kholu Lebakeng put the league champions in front again three minutes later and LDF took control of the game from there.<\/p>\n

The second half is where LDF really showed their dominance \u2013 \u2018Maseriti Mohlolo grabbed a brace while the hardworking Nthabeleng Potsane also got on the scoresheet to complete a perfect day for Lengana Nkhethoa\u2019s charges.<\/p>\n

Seipati Tlali did score a late consolation for Kick4Life with three minutes to go to make the score-line a more respectable 5-2 margin, but, in truth, it was a hammering.<\/p>\n

In the day\u2019s other semi-final, Stoko overcame Basetsana which meant they would face LDF in Sunday\u2019s final and many supporters left the grounds questioning how Stoko would do if Kick4Life were so comprehensively beaten.<\/p>\n

Others were simply praying they would wake up to a miraculous win for Stoko the following day. As is often the case with a team as dominant as LDF who have won the last four league titles, they are loved by their supporters but everyone else seems to want them to lose for their own different reasons.<\/p>\n

Some believe an emergence of a team to stop the army side\u2019s dominance would be good for women\u2019s football while others may just be jealous of LDF\u2019s continued success. Whatever the case, LDF faced a different challenge in the final because while Saturday\u2019s semis were open, Sunday\u2019s final was a cagey affair.<\/p>\n

It appeared Stoko felt they would not stand a chance if they went toe-to-toe with LDF as Kick4Life did and they took the opposite approach, parking players behind the ball.<\/p>\n

Their plan was to pack the middle of the field and deny the champions space to play through the centre of the pitch but the plan only worked briefly before LDF figured it out and created all four of their goals through their wide players.<\/p>\n

Phuzile Molefe, Mohlolo and Potsane, who scored a brace, fired LDF to the championship with well taken goals with three of them coming in the first half.<\/p>\n

Even with a four-goal lead, Nkhethoa was still standing on the touchline shouting at his players to get more goals. Speaking during a post-match interview with thepost, the LDF coach felt that they could have scored more despite running out 4-0 winners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think we could have scored more given the things we did,\u201d Nkhethoa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked a lot on finishing and combining with our passes. I can say they did 80 percent of what we worked on, it\u2019s just that they sometimes lack confidence.<\/p>\n

They get to the box but when they get there, they forget that once you are in the box you are a king, even a penalty you can get it,\u201d he said. Nkhethoa said Stoko posed a slightly different challenge to Kick4Life but the champions adapted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only difference is that Kick4Life has speedy players upfront but Stoko played with one striker who could be dangerous if not marked,\u201d Nkhethoa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were very compact.<\/p>\n

I think they read our game that if they allow us inside it\u2019s dangerous but anyway, we saw their plan and we decided to play crosses behind them,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Nkhethoa, who played for the LDF men\u2019s team before transitioning to coaching after retirement, said the WSL Top 4 gave his side a solid base ahead of the league season which starts next month.<\/p>\n

The LDF mentor said the champions aim to win three points from every game they play and that is all he can promise the fans. LDF certainly showed they have the deepest squad, just last month the 12 players in the Lesotho squad at the COSAFA Women\u2019s Championship, by far the most of any club.<\/p>\n

And after the weekend\u2019s display, everybody is on notice that LDF mean business and their rivals are already scratching their heads as to how to stop them.<\/p>\n

Kick4Life head coach Elizabeth Yelimala said her side will take the positives forward to work on themselves to be ready for the new season. For Stoko and Basetsana, meanwhile, it is back to the drawing board to improve their performances and their finishing.<\/p>\n

They also have to try to get more game-time. When Stoko beat Basetsana in the semi-finals it was their first match since the WSL season ended in May where they finished third behind LDF and Kick4Life.<\/p>\n

Stoko head coach Paul Setoko said his players started training a week before the WSL Top 4 because they were scattered all over but he insisted he saw positives because his side gave LDF a run for their money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t train but if a team like LDF was frustrated for 90 minutes I think we just need to go back and work on our strengths,\u201d Setoko said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTime is not on our side because the players go to school, some are working but I am not worried, we are going into the league.<\/p>\n

\u201d Stoko and everyone else has one month to prepare. LDF will once again be the team to beat.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. When Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Ladies and Kick4Life Ladies were pitted against each other in the semi-finals of last weekend\u2019s Women Super League (WSL) Top 4, many thought it was a match worthy of the final. The two are heavyweights of women\u2019s football in the country and sparks always fly when they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":20938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[233,246,245],"class_list":["post-20939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nPerfect start for LDF Ladies - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Ladies and Kick4Life Ladies were pitted against each other in the semi-finals of last w ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Perfect start for LDF Ladies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Ladies and Kick4Life Ladies were pitted against each other in the semi-finals of last w ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-26T12:17:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-26T12:44:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_12-63592b9a90d59.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Perfect start for LDF Ladies\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-26T12:17:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-26T12:44:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies\"},\"wordCount\":1047,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/10\/postQueueImg_12-63592b9a90d59.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/perfect-start-for-ldf-ladies\",\"name\":\"Perfect start for LDF Ladies - 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