DINO TO THE RESCUE
He may be playing in a lowly league, but burley striker believes he can help Bafana
IT’S NOT awkward at all between Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter and Dino Ndlovu after the Scotsman said the Azerbaijan league, where the striker plays his football and scores goals with impeccable consistency, was not good enough.
Baxter’s not suddenly had a change of heart, but has finally rewarded Ndlovu with a call-up to the national team ahead of Saturday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier at home against Burkina Faso, because Ndlovu has recently been brushing shoulders with the big boys – English champions Chelsea, Spanish giants Atletico Madrid and a strong Roma side from the Italian Serie A – in the European Champions League this season.
The burly striker who has had stints with no less than three clubs in his country of birth is now Qarabag’s leading goal ace.
“I respect the statements the coach made. I think it was on the day he was hired as the national team coach,” Ndlovu (pictured) said before Bafana’s morning training session yesterday.
“But at the end of the day we play football, regardless of whether it’s in Azerbaijan or Mozambique. We are chasing the round thing,”
He added: “I think playing in the Champions League has helped me a lot.
“Me and the coach had a decent conversation about how I would fit into the team. But this is not about me, it’s about the whole country. HAVING played their last home game of the season at Tafel Lager Park last week with a brilliant performance against the Cheetahs, the Tafel Lager Griquas travel to Nelspruit to meet the Steval Pumas this weekend in their final showdown in the Currie Cup Premier Division.
After some ordinary performances in the competition all the Kimberley team have to play for is an improved log position, seeing that the top half of the log is by now essentially out of their reach.
Griquas need no more motivation for beating the Pumas seeing that this return match presents an opportunity for them to even the score against the Mpumalanga side who shaded them 27-21 at Tafel We are in a bad state on the (qualification) table and we need to overturn that this coming weekend.”
Ndlovu (27) accepted that perhaps the Azerbaijan league, where Qarabag are the reigning champions, is a little inferior to the South African Premier League, a division in which he wasn’t as prolific as he is now while playing for Bloemfontein Celtic, SuperSport United and Mpumalanga Black Aces several seasons ago.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions in comparing the two leagues, but it’s true that the PSL is slightly higher than the one I am playing in because we only have eight teams in Azerbaijan and this side it’s 16. Nevertheless, football is football,” Ndlovu explained.
“I never give up if I don’t get called up. At the end of the day I need to perform at club level, they are the ones who put food on the table for my family. I won’t get angry and burn bridges for myself. I had the hope that my time will come and I think it’s now.”
The striker hasn’t been anywhere near the Bafana set-up since Gordon Igesund – with a stint between Lager Park when they last met in August.
Also, Griquas are still steaming from their belligerent win last weekend against the third placed Free State Cheetahs. An added motivation for the “Peacock blues” to hold nothing back is that they, along with the log-topping Cell C Sharks, are playing their final game of the Currie Cup season.
As for the Currie Cup log standings itself the KZN side have all but locked up the silverware and honours on offer bar the celebrations. The Sharks have 47 points – a clear 15-point lead over their nearest rivals Western Province.
Should the Sharks not fire in their last game against Western Province on October 14 they will still clinch the series while chilling at the beach.
As for Pumas, their session in FINAL ONSLAUGHT: Griqua forwards practicing a contact maul under the watchful eye of assistant coach Dave Hesketh. the conference has been described as above average this season by pundits.
The Mpumalanga team started off on a high by beating the Xerox Golden Lions 43-36, only to take a three game slumber thereafter against the Sharks, WP and the Cheetahs.
It was after Griquas gifted them that 27-21 win midway in their campaign that the Pumas rang up another solid performance thereafter against the Blue Bulls (51-15) and before being narrowly edged 29-28 by the Lions.
They then drew 27-27 with the high-riding Sharks and took Western Province to the cleaners with a clinical 22-12 win.
All this means that Griquas will have to sweat like never before to come away with a win in Nelspruit on Saturday.