Lesotho,South Africa battle for semifinal berth

by BackPageTXT

Friday Jun 17, 2016. 11:12

The Likuena of Lesotho will be targeting another win when they face off against South Africa in the quarterfinal stage of the 2016 COSAFA Castle Cup on Saturday afternoon.

Moses Maliehe's side will be motivated to meet the 2015 hosts as that will test their character, but will bank on their fine form so far.

Lesotho have topped Group B with nine points and their sights are now firmly set on the semifinals of the regional showpiece.

Although they failed to reach the knock-out stages last year, their run in Namibia will surely motivate them to beat Bafana Bafana this time around.

This match is set to be the eighth meeting between the two nations, but Lesotho are yet to claim a victory with Bafana Bafana boasting four wins - three matches ended in draw.

Although they managed to beat a defiant Malawi in their final group match on Thursday, the challenge for them is to bag their first win against their neighbours.

Looking at the South Africans, coach Shakes Mashaba is aware that his team must hit the ground running and bag a win.

They failed to do well last year as hosts and lost to the Zebras of Botswana on penalties - their mission is to restore their pride in this showpiece.

Mashaba will hope to see the hunger his boys displayed during their 4-0 win over Gambia in the 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Despite having a new and youthful squad mixed with experience, Bafana have already studied the game of the opponents and will target nothing but a win.

The match is scheduled to get underway at 16h00 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday afternoon.