Clever Boys’ duo ready to deliver another masterclass
JOHANNESBURG: The Yin and Yang of Wits’ attack, Phakamani Mahlambi and James Keene, returned to devastating effect on Tuesday night, showing just what the club missed in the final stretch of last season’s title race.
The pair complemented each other well in the 5-0 drubbing of Ajax Cape Town at Bidvest Stadium.
Keene did the heavy lifting, fighting for every inch, while Mahlambi waited patiently for the ball, floating across the back four.
Once Mahlambi got the ball, he ran rings around Ajax’s defenders. They struggled with his pace and skill, while they also couldn’t cope with Keene’s strength and tireless work rate.
Mahlambi and Keene made a mockery of the fact that the 5-0 win was the first match they had played together in a year.
“We complement each other very well,” Keene said.
““I do his (Mahlambi) dirty work and he goes on and scores the goals, which is fantastic. I am happy to do that. He has a lot of talent. He is hard to defend against.
“He is going to be a very good player in the future. He is raw talent. The coach (Gavin Hunt) understands Phakamani and handles him very well. He lets him do his thing.
“He stands there upfront and not that many people can catch him once he gets going. He is that fast. When he runs down the wing, I try my best to run with him to get into the box.”
Keene and Mahlambi are different in a lot of ways. The 19-year-old Mahlambi is fast, skilful and is playing in only his second season as a professional.
He grew up in the small town of Losberg in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The 31-year-old Keene doesn’t have explosive pace but has a high work rate and tirelessly harasses defenders.
This is the third continent he is playing on, having started his career in Portsmouth, before going to Sweden, Israel and India. It’s that difference that makes them such a deadly combination.
Their thoughts and run patterns are different, which means that defenders not only have to be sharp mentally, but also physically. Hunt relished unleashing them on the Urban Warriors because he spent a year without them after Mahlambi tore his anterior cruciate ligament in February and Keene injured his knee in May, both last year.
Mahlambi returned late last year, scoring in his first match back against Free State Stars. Keene did something similar. He scored in his first match and played a key role in Mahlambi’s goal.
The England-born forward admits that watching the team from the side-lines was frustrating, especially seeing them lose the league to Mamelodi Sundowns, while he was powerless to do anything about it.
“It has been a hard road back, requiring a lot of work from the club, the physio and myself to keep my head up,” Keene said.
“It wasn’t easy being in pain every day. Things didn’t always go my way. They didn’t go as fast as I wanted them to. As a footballer you want to be back on the pitch as soon as possible.
“Everyone in the club kept my spirit high. My wife helped me out fantastically. It wasn’t easy for her, too.”
Wits’ next assignment is a preliminary round clash with 16-time Reunion champions Saint-Louisienne on Saturday in the Caf Champions League.
The Clever Boys depart tomorrow. Hunt is likely to play Cuthbert Malajila and Gabadinho Mhango upfront so as to rest Keene and Mahlambi.