Niger held off a late surge from Lesotho to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory, sealed by a dominant first-half performance.
The Menas opened the scoring in the 38th minute when forward Daniel Sosah found the back of the net, finishing off a well-crafted pass from O. Badamassi to give the home side a deserved lead.
Niger kept up the pressure as halftime approached, doubling their advantage right on the stroke of the 45th minute. O. Sako capitalized on an assist from M. Wonkoye to send Niger into the break with a comfortable 2-0 cushion.
Lesotho struggled to find their rhythm early on, racked up discipline issues as frustration flared. Yellow cards were handed to L. Fothoane for a tactical foul in the 40th minute, followed shortly after the restart by R. Mokokoane for dissent in the 49th minute and T. Makhele in the 58th minute.
Despite trailing and facing a heavy caution count, Lesotho refused to go down quietly. Their persistence paid off in the 85th minute when S. Motebang stepped up to coolly convert a penalty, pulling a goal back and setting up a tense final few minutes.
However, Niger’s defense held firm through stoppage time to ensure all three points remained in their hands, leaving Lesotho to reflect on a late rally that ultimate fell just short.
