Comeback Kid hungry to pounce
Ngcobo plans to set down marker at Nations
MTHATHA Bucks goalpoacher Sydney Masana will be hoping to hit the ground running by scoring in his first competitive match back in the Eastern Cape when they clash with Jomo Cosmos at the Mthatha Stadium tomorrow.
Masana, 27, is back with Amathol’amnyama for his second spell with the NFD outfit after he left for Bloemfontein Celtic last year.
He was signed on a six-month loan from Phunya Sele Sele. The former Free State Stars and Nedbank Ke Yona team will be determined to make an immediate impact as he was brought in to help the team finish no lower than third place and qualify for the playoffs.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch after training yesterday, the Cape Town-born striker said he was ready to deliver on the field if coach Ian Palmer picks him tomorrow.
“I have been pushing myself very hard at training because I want to help the team win the league or get to the playoffs,” he said.
“If the coach picks me to play on Saturday, I hope I will score and help the team to win. As a striker I would love to score in every game.”
The game against Cosmos will be crucial to win for Ian Palmer, who will be on the Bucks bench for the first time.
Although Bucks are unbeaten in Mthatha since November 2015, if the team is to qualify for the playoff, it has to win their home games.
Bucks lost their first round game SOUTH African U20 and Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder Nkosingiphile Ngcobo is hopeful to against Cosmos so they will be looking for revenge by starting the second half of the season on a positive note.
The hosts are seventh on the log while Ezenkosi are fifth.
Cosmos coach Jomo Sono is likely going to park the bus and try to catch Bucks on the counter. To unlock the Cosmos defence, Bucks creative midfielder and leading goalscorer Mazwi “Jomo” Mncube and Masana should be on top of their game.
Having turned out for two PSL teams, a lot will be expected from Masana. So how will he handle the pressure?
“Pressure will always be there in soccer. But in the end it is not about me as an individual but us as a unit.
“If I don’t score and the team wins, I will still be happy. But I would love to be among the top goalscorers for the team,” said Masana.
The striker, who was introduced to to the media last month along four other attack-minded players, has settled in nicely at the club.
This is because he is familiar with the majority of the Bucks players. Also to his advantage is the fact that before he relocated to Cape Town with his mother, he lived in the former Transkei capital town.
He left for the Mother City after passing Grade 6 from Ichibini Primary School.
“It was easy to adjust and settle in because I know the guys and they know me. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” he said. replicate his MDC reserve league form for the national side in the 2017 Caf African Nations Cup in Zambia this month.
The highly-rated Ngcobo says he is aware of the South Africans’ tough Group B draw against Cameroon‚ Senegal and Sudan.
“Our performance at training shows that we are hungry for this tournament‚” he said after SA’s warm-up practice match against Orlando Pirates MDC (MultiChoice Diski Challenge) side at Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday.
“We want to do well and make our country proud.”
The 17-year-old midfielder has been in impressive form for Chiefs’ MDC frontline‚ scoring in their 3-2 win over Chippa United last month.
“We are in the group of death‚ which is going to be difficult‚ but I am hopeful that we are ready for the fight and can reach the final‚” he said.
Coach Thabo Senong’s troops will travel to Lusaka for their international pre-tournament friendly match against Zambia on February 9.
The Caf U20 Afcon runs from February 26 to March 12. SA open their tournament against Cameroon in Ndola on February 27. — TMG