By: T’soloane Mohlomi
Matlama Football Club recently thumbed Naughty Boys FC from Mafeteng by six goals to nil in an enthralling encounter at the Bambatha Tšita Sports complex in Maseru.
The Mafeteng outfit – outplayed and outscored, were left dumbfounded as Matlama FC dominated them during both halves of the match, leaving them with no goal to salvage as “Tse Putsoa” summited the Vodacom Premier League ahead of competitors Lioli FC on second place and Bantu FC on third respectively.
With this victory “Tse Putsoa” sent a stern message to Lioli FC whom they face this coming Sunday.
Matlama came out guns blazing in the first half when Jane Thabant’so scored the opening goal just 10minutes into the game and secured the second 5minutes later. Naughty Boys were however not going to leave matters lying down as they neutralized the midfield and created a handful of opportunities resulting in a near miss chance in the 20th minute.
Naughty Boys managed to suss it out as they weaved a string of passes around the field looking to get back into the match, but Thabants’o however dampened their hopes by converting yet another goal and another spectacular fourth goal which sent the blues fans into raptures after a sublime pass from his teammate just before half time. 4: 0 was the score line going into the break.
The second half saw the Mafeteng outfit desperately trying to get back into the match, but with a 4:0 nil deficit and with the blistering 28 degree scorching sun high above their performance became more and more lacklustre.
It wasn’t long till Matlama took advantage of the uninspired performance of the Naughty Boys; T’seliso Lekhooa and Molefe Thato sealed the game with a fifth and sixth goal which buried Naughty Boys FC.
In a post-match interview Matlama FC coach Mr Halemakale Mahlaha said he was thrilled with the win as it showed that his players were executing all the tactical instructions discussed by the coaching team. He said they will take their time revelling in the victory as they begin their campaign on a very high note given that Naughty Boys were a good side.
“I’m really happy with the Matlama FC players performance today, it’s a great moral booster for the first game of the year winning by such a wide margin, I believe it will give us confidence going into the season this year. Jane Thabants’o’s performance was “excellent scoring all four goals and he looks very motivated coming from the national side, we certainly congratulate him and hope he continues with these outstanding performance. During the course of the match upon establishing a comfortable lead we also introduced some of our young players so that they could also have an opportunity to play and learn from the senior players,” he said.