Mngonyama has an apple to peel with the Brazilians, and he just can’t wait ...
OPPORTUNITY is everything in football. Without it, players cannot progress – and, by definition, if they cannot progress, they will not realise their potential. Because of this, when the opportunity arrives, it’s vital a player makes the most of it. Faced with such a situation when coming on at half-time in an MTN8 semi-final second leg tie against Sundowns at the weekend, Cape Town City central defender Kwanda Mngonyama made sure he never put a foot wrong: he grabbed the opportunity.
Now, with City in league action away to Free State Stars at Goble Park in Bethlehem tonight (7.30pm), Mngonyama has a further opportunity, in that he can make the centre-back position alongside Taariq Fielies his own.
Last season, when former captain Robyn Johannes penned a pre-contract with Bidvest Wits, City had already prepared for his departure by signing Mngonyama. The 24-year-old defender had been on the books of Sundowns, but was always farmed out on loan to Wits and Maritzburg United. Realising his talent and ability, City pounced to lure the player to Cape Town.
This season, though, instead of Mngonyama immediately slotting in for Johannes, City coach Benni McCarthy opted to give new Ivorian defender Kouassi Kouadja the nod next to Fielies. Kouadja had a promising enough start, but was disappointing in the first half against Sundowns on Saturday. So, as is McCarthy’s style, rather than prolong the defender’s misery, he substituted him at half-time, and gave Mngonyama his opportunity.
Not only did his presence in defence add more steel and aggression, but he also popped up in the opposition penalty area for set-pieces, where his physicality and aerial ability were a real threat. It was, therefore, no surprise that it was Mngonyama who provided the assist for Fielies’ winning goal.
“Kwanda has been up for it and he has been buzzing at training,” said McCarthy. “In fact, I was tempted to start him – because I know he has an apple to peel with Sundowns. But I decided against it because I didn’t want to disrupt the defence; our back five (including goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh) have done well. I didn’t want to change the whole shape of the game, so I thought I would introduce Kwanda in the second half. He gave me what I expected he would.”
But Mngonyama will be keenly aware of the fact that one swallow doesn’t make a summer – he cannot rest because of the good 45 minutes against Sundowns. The need for consistency starts now. If he is to keep his place in the team, and stave off stern competition from Kouadja, then he has to keep delivering top-class performances.
Nedbank Cup champions Stars have had a stuttering start to the new season, but it is always dangerous to under-estimate them. McCarthy knows his City team faces a tough challenge tonight. With the MTN8 second leg against Sundowns scheduled for Sunday, the City coach is likely to tweak his starting team. Despite this, and despite what he terms the “ugly travel” of getting to the venue, he is quietly confident they can go to Bethlehem and get a positive result.