On a mission says man of the moment
Bucks’ Rantabane on cloud nine after his MoM award
MTHATHA Bucks’ experienced central defender Mashale Rantabane says he expected to scoop the man-of- thematch accolade during their Nedbank Cup clash against AmaZulu.
Rantabane put up a stellar performance during the game that went to extra-time with the score at 2-2, only to lose 3-0 in the penalty shoot out. Rantabane scored the two goals for Bucks.
He said he knew how hard he had worked during the entire 120 minutes of the game. But his only concern was AmaZulu’s Butholezwe Ncube who made matters difficult for Amathol’amnyama at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday evening.
“I was expecting to get that blazer and especially when he [Ncube] got out.
“I was sure that I was taking man of the match because I felt like I was competing with him,” Rantabane said.
“It was like I own the world after I got that award. Because I worked for it and I felt even more stronger to do more for my team.
“Because there were many players in the field but they only chose me.
“That’s was a great feeling to have and it has really motivated me to enjoy football, to work more harder so we can win our league games.”
He said being able to take off pressure from the team’s top goal-scorer, Mpho Erasmus, by scoring goals came as a relief to him.
“We are teammates so we’re supposed to help one another and not rely on only one guy to do the job.
“Because everyone is expecting him to score, even the opposition teams are aware of him – they know he’s a threat.
“And the entire time they are focusing on him we should score, so that they don’t know what hit them. That’s what I told myself.”
Rantabane said he’s been demoralised during recent league games where he’s felt that he was fumbling too much on the pitch.
But he said the man of the match award has revived his fighting spirit and he was confident that he would make a comeback to the leagues’s scoreboard.
“The mistakes you make as a player in the field of play can get to you but thankfully I have great teammates and a wonderful technical team because it was difficult to get through those rough times.
“Because they supported me all the way, I know anyone can commit mistakes but it’s how you rise from those or you give up.
“We can be distracted by mistakes because we still have many games to play until the league closes.”
Bucks are currently on a two-day break and will commence training on Monday as they will host the University of Pretoria at Mthatha Stadium next Saturday.