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South Africa 4 - 0 Lesotho: Debutant Letsoalo hat-trick sends Bafana Bafana into Cosafa Cup semi-finals
South Africa 4 - 0 Lesotho: Debutant Letsoalo hat-trick sends Bafana Bafana into Cosafa Cup semi-finals
The Bloemfontein Celtic star had a memorable afternoon as he became the first-ever South Africa player to grab a treble in this tournament
Victor Letsoalo struck a hat-trick which secured passage for Bafana Bafana to reach the semi-finals of the Cosafa Cup following a 4-0 Group A win over Lesotho at a rain-drenched Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday.
Making his Bafana debut after only being called up to the squad as a stand-by player, Letsoalo responded by first thrusting South Africa into the lead five minutes into the match, before again finding the back of the net a minute before halftime.
The Bloemfontein Celtic man then wrapped up his treble on 57 minutes to help the hosts record a convincing victory after Sphelele Mkhulise had grabbed Bafana’s second goal in the 20th minute.
It was also the first international goal for Mamelodi Sundowns’ Mkhulise to complete a day of debutant scorers for South Africa who have won all their three Cosafa Cup games so far and are yet to concede.
The result from this one-sided affair eliminated Lesotho went into this match reeling from another 4-0 defeat by Botswana on Saturday.
South Africa stand-in coach Morena Ramorebuli started Kaizer Chiefs new signing Njabulo Ngcobo, Letsoalo, Sifiso Ngobeni and Yusuf Maart for the first time in this tournament
It appeared to have worked for the hosts who were unimpressive in their identical 1-0 wins over Botswana and Eswatini.
It did not take long for Letsoalo to open the scoring when he connected with his head a cross from his Celtic teammate Ngobeni just after five minutes.
The Celtic man then narrowly missed the target with another headed effort a few minutes later as he promised to headline the contest.
South Africa then saw new Orlando Pirates signing Monnapule Saleng hit the woodwork from a freekick as Lesotho
Mkhulise then doubled Bafana’s lead by pouncing on a rebound after Lesotho goalkeeper Jersey Matsie had saved Nyiko Mobbie’s powerful shot.
As the match headed for the break, Lesotho defensive midfielder Lisema Lebokollane slipped while trying to clear danger and Letsoalo took advantage before making a lob past Matsie to register a brace.
That saw Bafana go for the halftime leading 3-0 and six minutes after the restart, substitute Kagiso Malinga’s shot just went wide.
Letsoalo then completed his hat-trick when he coolly slotted in a cross from Thabani Dube.
