Fadlu eyes slice of history
SILVERWARE: LEAGUE AND CUP HONOURS ON THE CARDS
Young Maritzburg United mentor still feels he has plenty to learn.
At 36, Fadlu Davids is edging closer to making history should his Maritzburg United side win the Nedbank Cup.
The young mentor has already been praised for the wonderful job he is doing at the Team of Choice as he has guided the team from being relegation candidates to title chasers.
The Pietermaritzburg-based side are in with a chance in both Ke Yona and the Absa Premiership and should he be successful in snatching either one, he would be the youngest ever coach to win a title in the Premier Soccer League era and also the first to bring silverware at Maritzburg.
The unassuming mentor is however not getting too excited as he feels he is still learning and growing and didn’t want to look too far ahead just yet. Maritzburg host Bloemfontein Celtic in a Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at Harry Gwala Stadium on Saturday afternoon and Davids expects a difficult match.
“It’s a tough draw. They should have beaten us by six goals in Bloemfontein. What makes it difficult is that we beat them 4-0 here, and for a team who lost here, they are going to come out all guns blazing,” said Davids.
Maritzburg go into this match without three defenders – captain Bevan Fransman and Pogiso Sanoka who are suspended – and Brian Onyango who is injured.
“We don’t have defenders, we have to look and see which options and which formations we will go with to sort out the back.” This, however, gives a chance to promising youngster, Rushine de Reuck who has made a few appearances and impressed.
“He made a mistake early on, but how he bounced back – that really shows maturity for a young man, to be able to be brave, and to get back into the rest of the game. Fantastic – I’m so proud of him, to come back the way he did, to give a performance like he did.
“We know his quality. We have only seen glimpses of him, touches of his quality. There’s so much more potential in him. We see that at training. Once he fully believes in himself, he will be one hell of a player,” said Davids of the 22-yearold centreback.
De Reuck is likely to partner with Siyanda Xulu for Friday’s match.