Spotlight falls on McCarthy

Bafana top scorer will look to remember his debut as a coach for right reasons

Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy will step into the dugout for the first time hoping to replicate his career as a footballer where he enjoyed tremendous success during his 18-year career.

McCarthy’s major test as a tactician will be against Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarterfinal at the Cape Town Stadium tomorrow at 3pm.

Due to his prominence as a South African football great, McCarthy will have the glare of public scrutiny, unlike many of his peers that came before him.

The 39-year-old will arguably go down in history as one of the finest players to lace his boots for Bafana Bafana.

When it’s all said and done, McCarthy will look to remember his debut as a coach for all the right reasons and not because of a loss at the hands of the Limpopo outfit.

Polokwane will be no walkover, and may want to make a statement by humiliating Cape Town City.

Polokwane are also guided by inexperienced coach in Bernard Molekwa.

McCarthy will need to learn to run before he can walk after being thrown in the deep end at the Mother City club.

Though tomorrow’s fixture will present a different ball game, Polokwane thrashed City 4-2 in their last game of the previous season. And unlike McCarthy, Molekwa does not face similar pressure.

Molekwa was appointed head coach on a full-time basis last month after having taken over on a caretaker basis when Luc Eymael left the club in the second half of the previous season.