体坛英语新闻：Botswana's Zebras aims to end losing streak against Lesotho

GABORONE, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Botswana national soccer team coach Peter Butler said he expects his team to end a string of poor results when they play neighbors Lesotho in the African Nations Cup Championship (CHAN) qualifiers on Sunday.

Butler told the media prior to his departure to the kingdom nation on Friday that his team is thirsty for victory and will redeem themselves against Lesotho.

Zebras are still reeling from a 2-0 loss at the hands of Uganda in their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group D qualifiers opening match just a week ago.

Prior to the loss, the team had lost two games in the regional Confederations of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) tournament in May.

The team's last win came against South Africa in the quarterfinals of the tournament when they progressed through a penalty shootout after the match ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Butler said his team played well against Uganda and was disappointed that they lost the match.

Pressure has been mounting on the former West Ham and West Brom player ever since he took over the reins of Botswana coaching job from local Stanley Tshosane over a year ago.

He however pleaded for patience saying he was building a strong team made up of mostly inexperienced youngsters.

Against Lesotho, Butler will not have the luxury of using South Africa based players as the CHAN tournament allows only African players plying their trade in their respective home leagues.

This means the trio of skipper Joel Mogorosi, Mogakolodi Ngele and first choice goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe will not be available for selection. Butler said they are expecting a tough encounter against Lesotho as they are no minor teams in modern football.

He said FIFA rankings, which pit Botswana above Lesotho, are nothing to read much into. "The loss against Uganda is now water under the bridge, we are fully focused on the Lesotho game. I have absolute confidence that we can get the desired result against Lesotho," he said.

Botswana will host Lesotho in the return leg in a fortnight with the winner progressing to the next stage of the qualifiers.