Thela has waited long for this gong

If Free State Stars go on and win the Nedbank Cup, Thela Ngobeni will be the happiest of all the players on the field on May 19. And it is not because he would have helped the legendary club to their first piece of silverware in almost 24 years, but because he would get a medal he can cherish.

The 29-year-old keeper has collected plenty of medals in the past 10 years he has spent at Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns but he is not convinced about those.

Ngobeni will miss out on adding another league medal to his collection as he moved from Sundowns on loan to Stars in January but he doesn’t care.

“I am not hurt that I will miss out on the league medal,” said Ngobeni.

“What’s the use for it when you didn’t play. I have been in that situation before. I have medals from my time at Chiefs but I didn’t play. In a way I didn’t earn those medals,” added the former Chiefs keeper.

With Stars now in the Ke Yona final at Cape Town Stadium, Ngobeni might just get a medal he can proudly display and have memories to share with his grandchildren in future.

He has been a pillar for Ea Lla Koto in the Nedbank Cup and was the Man-ofthe-Match in the semifinal win over Amakhosi as he pulled off unbelievable saves. Stars coach Luc Eymael told Ngobeni from the onset when he joined the side on January that he would be used only in cup games this season as well as if and when regular No 1 Badra Ali Sangare were to be injured.

“Coming to the team halfway through the season is never easy. When I came the team was already doing well. Ali had been doing well and I can’t complain. I would have liked to play more games but it is what it is,” said Ngobeni.

“The coach made it clear that he would use me in the cup games. Unlike an infield player who can be given a run for ten or 15 minutes, it’s not that easy with a goalkeeper,” he said.

Ngobeni spent the first six months of this term at his mother club Sundowns where he had to join the Multichoice Diski Challenge team to get some game time. It was a frustrating time for him as he had been recalled from a successful loan spell at Stars where he had been the No.1 keeper.

“It would have been more preferable for me to come at the beginning of the season. I made it clear that I wanted to play and so I wanted out of Sundowns.”

It is not that he was afraid of competition at Sundowns, but being fourth in the pecking order didn’t sit well with him.

“I have always had to compete with keepers who are national team keepers. It is not child’s play. But you learn from them. I cannot look back and blame myself for the past. These teams signed me because they saw he potential in me,” he insisted.

He is unlikely to go back to Sundowns and with Chiefs set to lose Brilliant Khuzwayo to their rivals Orlando Pirates in June, there might be a space for him at his old club. But would he want to go back?

“I haven’t decided on my future yet. Be it Kaizer Chiefs or any other team – all I want to do is play,” was all he would say.

“Sundowns know where I stand in terms of what I want,” he added.

First, however, Ngobeni has the chances to further enhance his reputation, but showing off his talents once more against Maritzburg United in the Mother City.