Terrence Mashego
The Cape Town City leftback hopes to back up his excellent campaign in 202021 with another fine showing to push for a national team place.
Upon joining Cape Town City from TS Galaxy at the start of last season, Terrence Mashego arrived in the DStv Premiership for the first time with a burgeoning reputation as one of South African football’s rising stars. The 2019 Nedbank Cup winner and Most Promising Player exceeded expectations during his maiden top-flight campaign with a string of impressive performances that saw him solidify his place in the starting XI in the absence of Edmilson Dove. His career appears set to follow in an upward trajectory in the years to come and, with a potential Bafana Bafana call-up looming on the horizon, the 23-year-old chatted with KICK OFF’s Liam Bekker ahead of the Citizens’ preseason preparations to reflect on his impressive foray into the big-leagues and to share more about his lofty ambitions for the future.
Born in Mamelodi, Pretoria, Mashego started to make a name for himself long before his move to Cape Town, after he impressed as a teenager with Mthatha Bucks during the early stages of his career.
His strong performances during his spell with the Eastern Cape-based side belied his youth and caught the attention of GladAfrica Championship side TS Galaxy, who snapped him up in 2018, and it was there that his potential truly began to come to the fore.
During the 2018/19 season, Galaxy famously became the first-ever second division side to win the Nedbank Cup following an historic triumph over Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs in the final, with Mashego playing a starring role for the team in the prestigious cup competition. His contributions were recognised when he was named as the Most Promising Player at the tournament, joining the likes of Andile Jali, Tlou Segolela and Lebohang Maboe, among others, who had won the award, which propelled his name onto the radar of some of the biggest clubs in South Africa.
“That was the season that opened doors for me,” he says, when asked about Galaxy’s record-breaking achievements. “Most teams really started to recognize me when I was playing in the Nedbank Cup and obviously, when I won the award.
“I don’t think many of the [top-flight] teams follow the GladAfrica Championship that much, so that season, and the Nedbank Cup win, was a door opener for me. It created a lot of opportunities for me.”
Mashego remained with the Mpumalanga-based side for another year and helped the club secure promotion to the DStv Premiership before earning his move to Cape Town City ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, with Ebrahim Seedat moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal.
The left-back’s maiden season in the Mother City proved to be a successful one as he was a near-ever-present under former coach Jan Olde Riekerink and his successor Eric Tinkler, helping the club secure a top eight finish in the league.
Testament to his influence was the fact that only nine players across all 16 teams in the league played more minutes in the division than Mashego, while only two
players, namely Peter Leeuwenburgh and Thato Mokeke, saw more action within the City camp.
“To be honest, it was quite a rollercoaster because there were good moments and some bad moments,” he reflects on his maiden top-flight campaign.
“But, to sum it up personally, it was almost the perfect year for me. It was my first time [in the DStv Premiership] and I did very well in most games – some other games maybe not as well – but to be honest, I’m proud of what I did considering that it was my first season.
“I think I only missed two games, I played 28 matches. When I first joined the team, in my mind I knew that I wanted to play because at TS Galaxy I was a regular so when I came to Cape Town City, I wanted to play because I’ve always been a regular.
“So, I told myself that, going to a club like Cape Town City, I had to compete.”
Mashego’s quick acclimatisation to the PSL proved to be of particular importance for the Citizens after the club lost star defender Edmilson Dove to injury for the rest of the season during the early stages of the campaign, with the Mozambique international being forced to undergo knee surgery in November.
The youngster, who was later honoured with City’s Signing of the Season award, was thrown into the deep end but thrived under the pressure and his strong performances throughout the year ensured that Edmilson’s absence was largely unfelt on the pitch.
“Even though I knew when I arrived that Edmilson was there and he was playing regularly and doing well in that position, I had to compete to find myself in the starting XI,” Mashego explains. “Unfortunately for him, he got injured and because of that I managed to get even more game time, and I’m proud of what I did with that opportunity.
“That [being named Signing of the Season] was a big achievement for me. I wasn’t expecting it. I thought maybe [Abdul] Ajagun would win it because he scored more goals than me, but I guess I also created two assists,” he adds lightheartedly.
“I was so grateful for that but, personally, as much as I’ve already managed to reach this level so far, my intention is always to aim higher.”
Competing for continental qualification
Having enjoyed a successful first taste of top-flight football with Cape Town City, Mashego is hoping to help the club build on its form from the previous campaign to qualify for continental football, either by winning the Nedbank Cup or by claiming one of the top three spots in the domestic league table.
The Citizens ended seventh in the log
“WHEN I CAME TO CAPE TOWN CITY, I WANTED TO PLAY BECAUSE I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A REGULAR.”
standings following the 2020/21 season and ultimately ended just nine points, or three wins, behind perennial title-contenders Orlando Pirates, who claimed the third place and the chance to feature in the upcoming CAF Confederations Cup.
The Cape-based outfit were undone by their own lack of consistency on the pitch after the club recorded a mixed return of 10 wins, 11 draws and nine defeats across the season, and Mashego identifies this as an area in which he and his teammates must improve on in their pursuit of competing in either of the CAF competitions in 2022.
“We have a good side with quality players, and we played beautiful football at times, but the only thing we lacked was consistency, especially when it came to winning games,” he explains when asked to reflect on the season before.
“We would win a game, then the next game we would draw, then the third game we lose or draw again, so we were just not consistent enough. I think if we become more consistent, we will do better, we can even win the league because if you look at the quality we have in the team, we have a l ot of good players.”
While challenging the likes of Mamelodi SSundowns and Orlando Pirates for the l eague title is a possibility as far as Mashego i s concerned, he believes that City will, at tthe very least, be aiming to qualify for a top tthree finish in order to secure continental qqualification.
“It is possible [to qualify for the CAF CChampions League or Confederations Cup] bbecause we have the Nedbank Cup which, i f we win, will see us qualify for continental ffootball, and we also have the top three to aaim for, which I believe is a possible target ffor us. Going into this season, that has to be tthe goal.”
The highly-rated defender has previous experiencee of playing on the continent aftera he featured during TS Galaxy’s unlikely CAFC Confederations Cup campaign in 2019, duringd which he made three e appearances anda even managed to find hhis name on the scoresheets during his side’s 44-1 aggregate defeatd to Nigerian giants Eny yimba i n the second qualifying roun nd of the competition.c
“Playing in the Confed Cup with TS Galaxy was a nice experience, not only football-wise, but also as a life experience because you get to learn about different cultures and different backgrounds,” he recalls from his previous outing in the tournament.
“From a purely football perspective, it helped develop me into a better player to be honest, because e there you are playing against t tough teams, teams that are more tactical and teams that have more experience. All of the sides we played against had experience of playing in the competition, and for us it t was the first-time taking part t, so, considering that and the fact that we were a team from the NFD, it was really nice to experience such an opportun nity.”
Ambitions of wearing the green and gold
Mashego’s impressive form at club level has not only earned him the plaudits of Cape Town City fans and DStv Premiership supporters alike, but also saw him catch the eye of national team selectors, who were believed to have considered him for a spot at the 2021 COSAFA Cup tournament. While he was ultimately not part of the squad which went on to lift the trophy in Gqeberha, it seems only a matter of time before he earns an opportunity to represent his country on the international stage, and it is something the Mamelodi-born star is hoping to achieve during the upcoming season.
That chance could arrive when South Africa takes part in the 2022 FIFA World o d Cup qqualification campaign, wwhere they have been drawwn in Group G alongside Ethiopia, Ghana and neighbbours Zimbabwe, and Masheggo is looking to make a stronng start to the season inn order to face his way into the plans of new Baffana Bafana coach, Hugo Brroos.
“I wantt to be part of that,” he addmits, when asked if hee harbours ambitions ofo taking part in the upcomming qualifiers for South Africa. “With the resh uffling that has happpened [in the coachinng department] I can seee that the current coachess, you can see from thee selections that they focuss on youngsters and also t he so-called unknown’’ players, so I could also get ann opportunity to represent mmy country. “I believe, thhis coming season, I will be able to get that opportunity. I justt need to up my game and keep impproving and I believe I will be partt of the set-up.”
“IF WE BECOME MORE CONSISTENT, WE WILL DO BETTER, WE CAN EVEN WIN THE LEAGUE.”