Wits’ clever strike pair complement each other
THE YIN and yang of Wits’ attack, Phakamani Mahlambi and James Keene, returned to devastating effect on Tuesday night, showing just what the club missed in the final stretch of last season’s league race.
The pair complemented each other well in the 5-0 drubbing of Ajax Cape Town at Bidvest Stadium.
Keene, did the heavy lifting, fighting for every ball and pressurising the Urban Warriors’ defence, while Mahlambi waited patiently for the ball, floating across the back four. Once Mahlambi, pictured left, got the ball, he ran rings around the Ajax defenders. They struggled to catch him because of his pace and skills, while they also couldn’t cope with Keene’s strength and tireless work rate. Mahlambi and Keene made a mockery of the fact that the 5-0 win was the first match they had played together in a year.
“We complement each other very well,” Keene said.
“I do his (Mahlambi) dirty work and he goes on and scores the goals, which is fantastic. I am happy to do that. He has a lot of talent. He is hard to defend against. He is going to be a very good player in the future. He is raw talent. The coach (Gavin Hunt) understands Phakamani and handles him very well. He lets him do his thing. He stands there up front and not that many people can catch him once he gets going. He is that fast. When he runs down the wing, I try my best to run with him to get into the box.”
Keene and Mahlambi are different in a lot of ways.
The 19-year-old Mahlambi is fast and skilful and is playing in only his second season as a professional. He grew up in a small town of Losberg in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Keene, 31, doesn’t have explosive pace but has a high work rate and tirelessly harasses defenders. This is the third continent he is playing in, having started his career in Portsmouth, England, before going to Sweden, Israel and India.
It’s that difference that makes them such a deadly combination because when they combine their strengths, they are a force.
Their thoughts and run patterns are different, which means defenders not only have to be sharp mentally but also physically.
Those attributes make them Hunt’s preferred pairing up front. Hunt relished unleashing them on the Urban Warriors because he spent a year without them after Mahlambi tore his ACL last February and Keene injured his knee in May.
Mahlambi returned late last year, scoring in his first match back against Free State Stars. Keene did something similar. He scored in his first match and played a key role in Mahlambi’s goal.
The England-born forward admits watching the team from the side-lines was frustrating, especially seeing them lose the league title to Mamelodi Sundowns.
“It has been a hard road back, requiring a lot of work from the club, the physio and myself to keep my head up,” Keene said.
“It wasn’t easy being in pain every day. Things didn’t always go my way. They didn’t go as fast as I wanted them to. As a footballer you want to be back on the pitch as soon as possible. Everyone in the club kept my spirit high. My wife helped me out fantastically. It wasn’t easy for her.”
Wits’ next assignment is a preliminary round clash with 16-time Reunion champions Saint-Louisienne on Saturday in the CAF Champions League. Hunt is likely to rest Keene and Mahlambi.