Masango stays grounded despite star performance
SUPERSPORT United winger Mandla Masango says he’s not reading too much into his fine performance in the 4-1 win over Maritzburg United in midweek.
Masango was making his third start since joining Matsatsantsa on loan from Danish side Randers and scored a brace in two minutes to help them fight back from a goal down.
The 27-year-old insisted that it is for his own good not to get carried away and should remain focused after getting the man of the match award.
“It is too early to tell. I wouldn’t wanna dwell on this; it is just another game. I have to look forward to the next game. It is like that; football is not based on history. It is based on the future,” argued the former Kaizer Chiefs player.
Masango, though, is buoyed by the combinations he’s enjoying with former Chiefs teammate Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
“It’s such a pleasure to play with Yeye. Not only him, but the other guys as well. But I’ve played with Yeye for so many years, so we have that telephatic connection,” he says.
“He knows what I will do and I know what he would do.”
SuperSport coach Stuart Baxter says it has helped that Masango has many ex-Chiefs teammates with him at the club.
Except for Letsholonyane, Masango also has the likes of Morgan Gould, Kingston Nkhatha and Tefu Mashamaite for company, to mention just a few.
“Let’s say socially and mentally it helps Mandla. Certainly, mentally he would feel more comfortable and socially, he’s not going to a new club where he knows no one.
“He knows the dressing room and he finds a place to stray away,” Baxter alluded.
“There is a slight difference to the way he played at Chiefs. There [at Chiefs] he was ducking in between the centre-back and the full-back a lot trying to make runs behind, but here we’ve got Jeremy [Brockie] and Kingston occupying those spaces. Here we get Mandla on the ball.” SuperSport face Highlands Park tomorrow
at Makhulong Stadium (8.15pm).