‘Laffor very difficult to deal with’

IF YOU’VE been wondering why Anthony Laffor never gets to start a lot of Mamelodi Sundowns’ matches, coach Pitso Mosimane has provided the answer.

“You must look at the relationship between me and Laffor for the last three years,” said Mosimane.

“I always ask him, ‘why can’t you be in the starting line-up?’ He’s such a good football player. Why should he be coming from the bench? But you start him in a game and you don’t get much. I end up substituting him after 45 minutes and now I have lost a sub. He’s a very difficult player, trust me.”

Mosimane elaborated: “Laffor and [Asavela] Mbekile are difficult people to deal with. That’s the life of a coach. We are dealing with different characters.”

Laffor has played a key role in the team’s last two matches.

The Liberian international set up Khama Billiat’s allimportant away goal against Zesco United in the CAF Champions League first-leg as a substitute, before coming off the bench again four days later to score the winning goal in the MTN8 second-leg semifinal against Chippa United.

The MTN8 is the only domestic competition Sundowns have not won since Mosimane joined the club, and they’ll have an opportunity to lift it when they face Bidvest Wits in the final at Mbombela Stadium on October 1.

It was not a walk in the park in the semi against Chippa, who matched Sundowns in every position over two legs, which started with a first-leg goalless draw dominated by coach Dan Malesela’s team in Port Elizabeth.

“The Chippa game gave me nightmares. I had to work on this game from 3am to 8am to make sure they do not have the party they had in PE,” said Mosimane.