A giant in goal

WHILE Baroka’s top scorer Thabiso Kutumela is worthy of attention, it is giant goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke who has arguably made the most telling contribution to Baroka’s success. Masuluke kept 17 clean sheets in 32 League and cup matches during the 2015/16 season, and was justifiably nominated for the R50 000 Nedbank Cup Young Player of the Tournament award, along with teammates Ndivhuwo Ravhuhali and Dumisani Ngwenya. Standing 1.92 metres tall, 23-year-old Masuluke has dwarfed opponents with his dominance in the box, neutralising plenty of what came his way. “I know that I have the height needed for a goalkeeper, and I use that to my advantage,” says Masuluke. Having started out with amateur clubs Young Chiefs and Jackson Young Stars back home in Giyani, he has now spent two years as first-choice at Baroka following a short spell with Winners Park in third-tier football. “After the solid season I had I will be working towards making sure that I continue on that path in the PSL. My work should be what gets me recognised; I am really willing to step up and show what I am all about,” Masuluke says.

submission by the financial powers of the big clubs. Already Kutumela, who top scored in the NFD with 18 goals, has been snapped by Orlando Pirates, just a year after Gift Motupa left for the same club. In years gone by Lantshene Phalane (Bloemfontein Celtic), Katlego Mashego, Tshepo Mothiba, Sifiso Mbhele (all Freee State Stars), Thobani Mncwango (Polokwane City) and Kuduku Maleasenya (Chippa United) have all used Baroka as a springboard to the PSL. “If a player stays with us for five years I think that is enough for him to warrant a move. We didn’t just sell those players for the sake of it; we considered the future of the players. Gift and Thabiso both played for this team for over five years, and both captained the team, so we felt they deserved to move on to the next challenge since we were not in the highest league at that time,” the Baroka owner explains. “Now that we are in the Premiership there is no need to move players to another local club ... we can only move them overseas where they will get better mileage. “Thabiso and Gift both come from our development structures. We have always had a junior team, which was playing Charismatic head coach Kgoloko Thobejane will remain in charge in their debut season in the PSL. Faced with the huge task of leading the club this past season, Thobejane resigned from his job as a Life Orientation teacher at Mogudumo Primary School in December 2015, after taking over from Sello Chokoe in April last year towards the end of their 2014/15 campaign. “To be frank, it was the coach who made the difference because the players have always been there. We lost matches left, right and centre until I spoke to Kgoloko and told him he needed to come on board full-time,” Mphahlele says. “He took over the team with four games to go [2014/15]; we were 12th on the log. I said, ‘Kgoloko, please take over the team and make sure that you win one match out of the four’. To my surprise he won three and drew one. I then told him to take over this season because if you can win three out of four then you can win the League. That was the difference,” says Mphahlele, who played up to third-tier level as a striker at Alexandra Blackpool. Thobejane has been with the club since the time it was formed, moving from assistant coach to technical advisor before taking over as head coach. “That definitely made a huge difference because he knows this club inside and out. He has known me since he was born and he understands me in the same way that I also understand him,” says Mphahlele.