Now Mother of all Battles
Upbeat Mnyamane has bigger fish to fry Bucs out to break three-year drought
THABO Mnyamane knows that at a personal level tomorrow’s Nedbank Cup final against Orlando Pirates is a chance for the SuperSport United forward to stake a claim for a Bafana Bafana place. Mnyamane was left out of SuperSport coach Stuart Baxter’s first Bafana Bafana squad that beat Nigeria 2-0 in Uyo in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on June 10. His was one of the few question mark omissions as Baxter named a strong Bafana squad juggling his new national team duties with ending his contract at SuperSport‚ including a chance at Matsatsantsa retaining the Nedbank trophy in a repeat of last year’s final. In-form Mnyamane – with 11 goals in all competitions in 2016-17 – is hoping that a good performance at the Moses Mabhida Stadium will make it hard for his club coach to ignore the former Pretoria University FC forward once Baxter becomes fulltime Bafana boss. “I believe we’re doing so well in this league [the PSL] – every player is doing well domestically‚ and abroad. So it’s good for the coach to have a headache selecting players‚” said Mnyamane. “I believe that when they announce the next squad I will be there. I need to deliver domestically‚ that’s when I put my name in the hat.” Mnyamane said SuperSport’s players have taken in their stride a situation where Baxter had to leave Matsatsantsa for a period for the Nigeria game‚ with assistant-coach Kaitano Tembo taking over in Caf Confederation Cup games. Adding to the confusion at SuperSport‚ 2015-16 Nedbank champions with a 3-1 final win against Pirates in Polokwane‚ Eric Tinkler has already been poached from Cape Town City as next season’s Matsatsantsa coach. “The team has been managing the situation very well. We went to TP Mazembe without the coach [Baxter]. And we got a great result‚” Mnyamane said of SuperSport’s 2-2 Confed draw against Mazembe in Democratic Republic of Congo on June 4. “So we’re balancing between him being here and him being away. “For us it hasn’t been a train smash because we are very professional as players and the management has helped us cope with it very well.” — TimesLIVE
OUPA Manyisa took a long breath before replying on what has been the most difficult part of Orlando Pirates’ disastrous season. “Eish. It’s us not being in the top eight‚” the Pirates captain said in reference to this generation being the first to not make the top-half cut in the club’s history in the Premier Soccer League era. But what about the two instances the club shipped six goals in a match‚ being thumped 6-0 by Mamelodi Sundowns and losing 6-1 to SuperSport United? “It’s part of football. These things happen‚” said Manyisa. Short and straight to the point answers are vintage Manyisa. “Ace” is a man of a few words‚ preferring to let his feet do the talking. “I lead by being positive during the game‚” said Manyisa. “The young players look up to us. If we [as the senior players] drop our heads‚ they will also drop their heads.” The Buccaneers will look to lift themselves from the desperate position they are on‚ staring at celebrating their 80th anniversary with nothing‚ by winning the Nedbank Cup final against SuperSport United at Moses Mabhida Stadium tomorrow.
Pirates have been a different team in the Nedbank Cup‚ losing their timid nature to become a forceful side that fights until the end‚ chasing that trophy that can at least partly redeem their season.
“Everything was in our hands in the Nedbank Cup‚” said Manyisa. “We knew that each win brought us a step closer to the final‚ unlike in the league where not everything was in our control.
“Here we are today‚ going to Durban to play in the final. That place loves us [because the last time Bucs won a trophy in 2014 was in Durban‚ in the Nedbank] but we can’t rely on the past. We have to go there and fight for this trophy.”
If Pirates are victorious‚ the club will break a three-year trophy drought and Manyisa will win his first trophy as captain to add to the seven he has notched. The 28-yearold’s tends to disappear in difficult moments. But when he shows up‚ he shows up and becomes the club’s heartbeat.
“Being the captain has been challenging but at the same time I am grateful that I am not the only senior player here‚” said Manyisa.
“We’ve got guys like Happy Jele‚ Thabo Matlaba and Mpho Makola to name just a few. We have been helping each other throughout the season even though things didn’t go our way.” — TMG