Letsoalo in hat-trick mood as Bafana thump Lesotho

Bafana Bafana welcomed back some big names and put in their best performance of the Cosafa Cup when powering to a 4-0 win against Lesotho at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday.

Man of the moment for Bafana was striker Victor Letsoalo who scored a hat-trick. The Bloemfontein Celtic man found the net four minutes into the game, a second a minute before halftime and then a third early in the second half. It was the first hat-trick by a SA footballer in the Cosafa Cup. 

Tuesday’s victory followed 1-0 wins over Botswana and Eswatini, sending Bafana to the top of Group A and qualifying for the semifinals.

Bafana’s other goal, sandwiched between Letsoalo’s first and second, was scored by Sphelele Mkhulise in the 20th minute.

SA coach Morena Ramoreboli welcomed back some of the bigger Premier League names, including the Bloemfontein Celtic pairing of Letsoalo and left wingback Sifiso Ngobeni. He even had the depth to have Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Lebohang Maboe come off the bench.

With Rushine de Reuck, Thabani Dube and Kaizer Chiefs new signing Njabulo Ngcobo forming a formidable back three, Ngobeni and right wingback Nyiko Mobbie had the freedom to thrust forward on the overlap.

It was Lesotho’s second 4-0 defeat in succession, having lost by that scoreline to Botswana in their previous match.

SA’s last match is against Zambia at the same venue on Wednesday (kickoff 3pm).