MASERU – It was a woeful start of the year 2025 for rock-bottom dwellers of VPL standings, ACE Maseru.
ACE conceded four goals in either half of the game to suffer a 8-1 loss at the hands of Bantu FC on Saturday.
With only 11 players available for week match week 13, there was not even a single substitute on the bench. The 11 were forced to play the whole 90 minutes.
However, the team manager reckoned that the eight-goal loss could have been avoided.
Lekhooana Rampeta said that his side did not covert the chance they created; as such, they got punished in return.
“It is a defeat, yes, but there are some positives to take from this game,” Rampeta said in a post match comment.
The off-the- field shenanigans continue to reflect on ACE Maseru’s onfield performance.
The head coach has been axed following a winless run in 12 games. In addition, players have boycotted the gym due to unpaid wages.
“A lot of things happened leading up to the game, and it contributed to the results,” he continued.
But he was very hesitant to dwell on it any further.
“It’s not a game that I would say the final score reflects what really went on in this game,for instance, we conceded goals that could have been avoided,” he said.
We had our chances too, it’s just that we didn’t convert them, they (Bantu) had theirs and converted them.”
ACE Maseru still has two more games before wrapping up the first round.
With this current window period, the team is hoping to strengthen their squad and hope to hold on to the premier league status.