{"id":34706,"date":"2023-10-11T16:10:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T16:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory"},"modified":"2023-10-11T16:37:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T16:37:04","slug":"matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory","title":{"rendered":"Matlama savours sweet taste of victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>After falling in last year\u2019s Alliance Winter Challenge final, Matlama savoured the sweet taste of victory in this year\u2019s showpiece by beating Linare 1-0 in an intense final on Sunday at Setsoto Stadium.<\/p>\n

The match was settled by a solitary goal, a free-kick by Rethabile Mokokoane in the first half which sent Matlama fans into raptures. It was an error from Linare\u2019s goalkeeper Tankiso Mafa which led to a goal as the stopper haplessly fumbled the ball into his net while he tried to catch it.<\/p>\n

It proved to be a costly mistake because as hard as they tried, \u2018Tse Tala\u2019 could not break down \u2018Tse Putsoa\u2019s defence in the second half. The final whistle sparked jubilant celebrations as Matlama lifted their first Alliance Winter Challenge trophy since the inaugural tournament in 2015.<\/p>\n

It also offered a ray of hope for a better upcoming season after \u2018Tse Putsoa\u2019 endured a miserable 2022\/23 campaign in which they missed out on the top four.<\/p>\n

Whether or not Matlama can actually be title contenders when the real action begin remains to be seen but head coach Halemakale Mahlaha was visibly pleased and relieved to see his side lift the pre-season curtain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult, Linare came prepared, they wanted to win, but I am happy for the boys. They resisted pressure, especially in the second half until the point of securing the win,\u201d Mahlaha said.<\/p>\n

Mokokoane\u2019s goal in Sunday\u2019s final was Matlama\u2019s fourth over the two-day pre-season competition. The previous day \u2018Tse Putsoa\u2019 outclassed Lioli 3-0 in the semis. Mahlaha was pleased with his side\u2019s finishing over the two days but insisted there remains room for improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to make changes (for the Alliance Winter Challenge) because my two senior players in offence are not here and it might have confused the team a bit, but I am happy given what we worked on,\u201d Mahlaha explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hadn\u2019t worked on finishing too much (in our preparations) but scoring four in two games is satisfying. When we start working on finishing, I hope the margin will go up,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Matlama went home on Sunday night with a trophy and M50 000 in prize money which will go a long way towards aiding their preparations for the new season.<\/p>\n

\u2018Tse Putsoa\u2019s dominance on the pitch saw them rack up all the Alliance individual awards as well.<\/p>\n

Goalkeeper Monaheng Ramalefane kept two clean-sheets over the two days and was awarded Goalkeeper of the Tournament, an award that came with M2 500 in prize money.<\/p>\n

Hlomelang Lebina, who joined Matlama from Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) in the offseason, was named Player of the Tournament and went home with M3 600, while Mahlaha went home with M2 000 for being named as the best coach at the tournament.<\/p>\n

The only award Matlama did not win was the top goalscorer which went to LCS\u2019s Diutlwileng Molefe who scored two goals and took home M3 000. Lebina\u2019s performance would have been especially gratifying for Matlama fans who got to see their new big-name signing in action for the first time since his arrival from LCS.<\/p>\n

The exciting winger shared last season\u2019s golden boot award with Matlama\u2019s Jane Thabants\u030co and he looked an immediate livewire in Matlama blue. \u2018Tse Putsoa\u2019 will be hoping for more of the same from all their new signings as the 2022 champions seek to return to title contention when the new season kicks off next month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the new players will give us moral and when they become comfortable and we will have a competitive team gelling together,\u201d Mahlaha said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have signed quality players; we just need to polish them together with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Lesotho. After falling in last year\u2019s Alliance Winter Challenge final, Matlama savoured the sweet taste of victory in this year\u2019s showpiece by beating Linare 1-0 in an intense final on Sunday at Setsoto Stadium. The match was settled by a solitary goal, a free-kick by Rethabile Mokokoane in the first half which sent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":34705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[233,246,245,1097],"class_list":["post-34706","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","tag-mokokoane"],"yoast_head":"\nMatlama savours sweet taste of victory - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After falling in last year\u2019s Alliance Winter Challenge final, Matlama savoured the sweet taste of victory in this year\u2019s ...\" \/>\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\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matlama savours sweet taste of victory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After falling in last year\u2019s Alliance Winter Challenge final, Matlama savoured the sweet taste of victory in this year\u2019s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory\" \/>\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=\"2023-10-11T16:10:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-11T16:37:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/10\/sm_1697029367.00899.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1599\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\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=\"3 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\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Matlama savours sweet taste of victory\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-11T16:10:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-11T16:37:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory\"},\"wordCount\":636,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/10\/sm_1697029367.00899.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"Lesotho\",\"Mokokoane\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/matlama-savours-sweet-taste-of-victory\",\"name\":\"Matlama savours sweet taste of victory - 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