Young guns helping Arrows find the mark
Larsen shares how club thrives minus big stars
Lamontville Golden Arrows cannot match many Premiership clubs when it comes to attracting experienced and bigname players, owing to their limited financial muscle.
They have not had a sponsor since 2013.
Arrows coach Clinton Larsen has, however, managed to find some success despite the club’s inability to lure seasoned campaigners to the KZN-based outfit.
This season, Larsen’s charges finished seventh in the Absa Premiership, despite using a relatively young and inexperienced squad.
Players like left-back Zolani Nkombelo and centre-back Mzwandile Buthelezi are some Arrows unknowns who shone on their debut season. Abafana Bes’thende’s tactician has cited the players’ individual ambitions as the reason they excelled in their maiden season in the top flight.
“I think the reason we managed to finish in the top eight using a team made of youngsters was that most of them have that desire to showcase their capabilities. For these youngsters, it’s more about fulfilling their personal ambitions. They have that hunger to succeed,” Larsen told Sowetan.
“We do not have the budget other teams have, so we have to be very smart how we monitor players that we bring to the team. The good examples of that are Nkombelo and Buthelezi. We scouted Buthelezi while he was playing for Acornbush [an ABC Motsepe League side] in the Nedbank Cup last season.”
Larsen also confirmed that his consistent performer over the years, Kudakwashe Mahachi, was on his way to Orlando Pirates. The Arrows mentor hopes the Zimbabwean winger will impress at the Soweto giants.
“I am really going to miss him. Mahachi has been an integral part of what we have been trying to build here. It’s a great capture for Pirates and I hope… for his sake he plays as much as he did with Arrows. He’s a top-class player and I am positive he’ll impress.”