MABOE’S MIDFIELD EFFORTS KEY FOR MARITZBURG
the promise he showed when Maritzburg signed him from National First Division side Mbombela United ahead of the 2016-17 season, having the year before taken the Mpumalanga side into the promotion play-offs.
That dream did not come to reality, but the young midfielder has continued his progression and after making 26 starts in his first top-flight season, already has 35 in all competitions in 2017-18, featuring in all but one league game so far.
Maboe’s performances behind the strikers have not gone unnoticed and he admits that this season he has found himself marked much more tightly.
“I feel like teams sometime plan to make it tough for me, so I feel I need to always up my game, to see how I can improve my performances,” he said.
“I want to get myself in good positions to receive the ball in space so I can penetrate and help my team moving forward, as well as helping them in defence. I’ll find a solution for it and keep working hard.”
Maboe is not at all surprised by how well the team has done this year, given the collective effort they have made on and off the pitch.
“The important thing is to keep on fighting, working hard, staying humble, giving 100 percent in each and every game, that’s what will win us games. We must keep pushing in the same direction, which we are doing very well right now.”
Davids recently hailed Maboe, who is a reported target for Kaizer Chiefs, and his other young stars after they beat newly-crowned league champions Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 to reach the Nedbank Cup decider.
"Since the beginning of the first day in pre-season‚ I kept telling them they have to believe how good they really are‚” the coach said.
“They are still not taking this confidence on board. I think it will take some time, but let’s hope they really start to believe in themselves. As we grow as a team‚ as we become better‚ they will realise and then perhaps take it to the next level.”
Maboe scored in that Nedbank Cup semi-final victory and in the league meeting that followed a few days later, his high-profile goals added to his reputation.
The youngster comes from good stock too and is the son of former Orlando Pirates, Bloemfontein Celtic and AmaZulu player Sidwell Maboe.
“I think he has a big engine, he plays deep in midfield but he likes to get forward and score goals, which you can only do if you are extremely fit,” Sidwell said of his son.
Maboe will next be in action when Maritzburg host Lamontville Golden Arrows on 12 May on the final day of the PSL season, hoping to take third spot in the league from Kaizer Chiefs.