Majoro not interested in psyching himself up for his old team

LEHLOHONOLO MAJORO gives little away at first when asked about Cape Town City, his former club following his move to Wits last month.

But when pressed for more details, especially whether he has any insight on why the Mother City club remains unbeaten against the Clever Boys, the striker, appreciating that all eyes will be on him when coach Benni McCarthy’s outfit visit Bidvest Stadium tomorrow in the opening round of the Nedbank Cup, Majoro, finally caves.

“I think it will be a mental thing,” he says about coming up against his old teammates so soon after his departure.

“People tend to psych themselves up when they play against their former teams and that often leads to mistakes. I don’t want to fall into that trap. I take it one game at a time and I treat them as professionals. I am sure if we can play the same way we played against Chiefs in our previous game, we might come up with positive results because this is the only trophy we stand a chance to win.”

Majoro got off the mark at the weekend by scoring his first goal for Wits, an equaliser, against Chiefs, a team he played for between 2011 and 2013, winning one PSL title with them.

He is ready to build on that performance tomorrow against a City side that almost looks like a new team with all the January signings brought in to fill in the void created by losing Majoro and Aubrey Ngoma, who joined Sundowns.

“I watched them (City) when they played Sundowns on Friday. I believe they still have a good squad – judging by the results,” Majoro says.

“It’s normal that players come and go. It doesn’t mean us leaving that the team will collapse. They are capable of beating anyone, as that is the case in the PSL, where everyone can beat anyone regardless of their log standing.”

Majoro spent the last few weeks of his time at City watching from the stands after a fall-out over his refusal to sign a new contract. He’d been declared a free agent when Wits signed him to help them look like champions again during a difficult period in which the title holders had dropped down into the relegation zone.

“I must say that I was surprised by the level of competition here,” Majoro says of having to fight for a place in the team with James Keene and Amr Gamal. “James is a hard working guy, and Gamal is good with the ball to his feet, his positioning and skills. I think each and every striker has his own attributes.”

The 31-year-old is adamant he was not despondent when he was struggling to open his account for his new club. It took him six games before he scored.

“The effort I put in determined whether I would start the next game or not. I believe I was trying. I have improved from the player I was, covering more distances and making a lot more runs now than I used to make in the previous teams,” Majoro says.

“I believe it comes with the style and the mental strength of an individual. This game is all about pressure. No one was telling me I was under pressure to score, but I kept working hard and never lost hope. That’s what the best strikers do and I will keeping pushing for the limit.” LIVERPOOL DEFENDER Virgil van Dijk accused Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane of diving and Eric Lamela of exaggerating to get a penalty in Sunday’s pulsating 2-2 Premier League draw at Anfield.

The visitors were awarded two penalties, one of which Kane scored with virtually the final kick of the game to earn his side a point.

Kane missed the other spot-kick after Loris Karius was adjudged to have brought him down.

But Dutchman Van Dijk, who was penalised for the second penalty, said neither should have been given.

“I think the first penalty was offside and I think it is a dive,” Van Dijk said. “You see him (Kane) diving clearly and no-one is talking about that.

“There is a lot of discussion about whether it is offside, yes or no, but I think it was offside as well. The referee made his decision together with the linesman. It was good for us that it was saved.”

Television sound recording of referee Jon Moss and his assistant revealed confusion about whether the ball had been accidentally played on to Kane by Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren. Moss decided to award the kick even though he said he had “no idea” if the defender had touched the ball.

Van Dijk was equally critical of the second decision after Lamela collapsed theatrically under his challenge.

“For the second penalty, I see him coming and I try and hold my leg in, he just pulled his body in front of the ball and he goes down,” Van Dijk said.

“The ref said play on and I was very disappointed that the linesman said otherwise. Unlucky I think.

“First of all it was offside and secondly he just put his body in front of me. I don’t think that is a pen and the same with the first one.”

The FA will decide whether to take retrospective action against Kane or Lamela, with both penalties likely to be reviewed by an independent panel.

Asked if he thought Kane should be punished for diving, Van Dijk added: “That is not something for me.

“I thought it was a dive - that is my opinion and the referee thought it was no offside and no dive and he gave a pen. Good for us that we saved it.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino praised the ‘character’ of the match officials, labelling the decision to award Spurs a stoppage-time penalty ‘amazing’.

“I congratulated the referee for showing that sort of character,” Pochettino said. “It was difficult to know at the time if they were right but in the dressing room I confirmed that they were right in every single decision.” – Reuters