The change of venue was confirmed by Matlama late yesterday afternoon.
The Vodacom Premier League match was originally scheduled to be played at the Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena but keen to maximise its appeal Tse Putsoa have decided to use Setsoto.
It will be the first local league match to be played at Lesotho’s home of football since its renovation was completed last October.
Even though details of the match have been announced at short notice a large crowd is still expected for Sunday’s game. Announcing the change in venue, Matlama’s public relations officer Lesolle Phalatsi said the champions had pushed to play at the national stadium to create a spectacle for what is Lesotho’s biggest club game.
The Setsoto Stadium is the only ground in Lesotho that is able to meet normal top-flight football standards.
“We are doing this for the game of football. We are able to sell the sponsor, sell apparel and create a family outing. It makes business sense,” Phalatsi said. “We could have easily played at LCS or Bambatha. We believe playing at Setsoto can help us get our mojo back,” he added.
Something else that may help Matlama “get their mojo back” is the possible return of Litšepe Marabe after he played and scored the winner in a closed doors friendly match win against the national under-17 side yesterday. Marabe has missed Matlama’s last four matches with a shoulder injury. Tse Putsoa have struggled to create in the young striker’s absence and have scored just once in their last three matches.
Matlama and Lioli played to a goalless draw two Friday’s ago, but its unlikely Sunday will see a similar result – both teams have to win.
Previous Matlama and Lioli league meetings:
2010/11
11/03/11: Lioli 0-0 Matlama (Teyateyaneng)
2009/10
08/05/10: Lioli 2-0 Matlama (Bambatha Tšita Sports Arena)
24/01/10: Matlama 3-0 Lioli (Pitso Ground)
2008/09
11/03/09 Matlama 2-1 Lioli (Pitso Ground)
15/11/08 Lioli 1-1 Matlama (Teyateyaneng)
2007/08
30/03/08 Matlama 1-3 Lioli (Pitso Ground)
17/11/07 Lioli 0-1 Matlama (Teyateyaneng)
Weekend fixtures
Saturday: Bantu vs Joy (Mafeteng), Swallows vs LMPS (Mazenod), Lerotholi Polytechnic vs LDF (Central Prison)
Sunday: Matlama vs Lioli (Setsoto Stadium), Mphatlalatsane vs Linare (St Monica’s), Maduma vs Mabeoana (Khukhune)
Vodacom Premier League table
P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ||
1 | LCS | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 32 | 13 | 19 | 36 |
2 | Linare | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 30 |
3 | LDF | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 30 |
4 | Bantu | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 29 |
5 | Matlama | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 25 |
6 | Lioli | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 23 |
7 | LMPS | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 23 |
8 | Likhopo | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 23 |
9 | Maduma | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 26 | -3 | 23 |
10 | Joy | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 21 |
11 | Lerotholi | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 16 |
12 | Mphatlalatsane | 17 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 12 |
13 | Swallows | 17 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 11 |
14 | Mabeoana | 16 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 26 | -19 | 7 |
No comments:
Post a Comment