It definitely helps PR: What else can you tell us about yourself? MM:

In this mini-interview, Mbombela United midfielder, Matjhaya Marks, chats to Soccer Laduma’s Peter Raath about his memories as an Orlando Pirates junior. He also discusses finally making an impact under coach Duran Francis and gelling with Siphesihle Sang

Peter Raath: Seeing that you are a former Orlando Pirates Academy player, let’s discuss some of those details before we get to Mbombela United. When did you join Bucs and what were your most memorable moments there?

Matjhaya Marks:

After playing a season for amateurs Senaoane Gunners, I went to Bucs for a trial in 2016 and was signed by Augusto Palacios. But my very first club at junior level was Mapetla Brazil, prior to moving to Randburg Academy. Siphesihle Sangweni, who happens to be my childhood friend and current teammate at Tingwenyama, also played with me at Gunners, Randburg and Orlando Pirates. I remember the very first ever MultiChoice Diski Challenge game, which was played in 2014/15 because that’s when Sangweni scored Bucs’ only goal when we beat AmaZulu FC. In an effort to help solve situations on the field and win matches, we often talk about our experiences at Pirates, which included twice winning the promotional league, whilst being together for two-and-a-half seasons. It was really great training with the first team. I used to get that opportunity when other players were on national duty. The club’s assistant coach, Tebogo Moloi, who worked under Eric Tinkler, was the one that saw my potential. Later, after my first loan spell with Real Kings, I returned to Pirates and trained for a month under caretaker coach Palacios and Bradley Carnell before going to Mbombela. As soon as Bucs found out that another club was interested in me, I was released.

PR: During the past few seasons, you hardly got any game- time under Kings’ coach, Simo Dladla, or at Tingwenyama when Milton Dlamini and his predecessor, Simon Ngomane, were in charge. However, since the arrival of Duran Francis, who describes you as a “late bloomer that will get better and better”, your career has begun to flourish. Is there any particular reason for that?

MM:

It definitely helps when a coach believes in you. I’m very pleased to be finally making an impact by playing most of the matches for Duran Francis. He’s quite impressed with my performances and, as I’m no longer an U23 player, I must fight more and work harder for a place in the team. I did get a few matches under Dlamini, was used mainly as a substitute, but now things are changing for the better. My coach is happy with much of my play. However, he wants me to stop hanging onto the ball in the middle of the park and also make more moves into the box. Therefore, I’ve been trying to fix those issues by running off the ball, looking for open positions so that when I do receive passes, I can make as many forward runs as possible to support play or get into the box and try to score more goals.

I’m currently being used as a number 10, but at Bucs, I was a winger and learned a lot from the skilful Thabo Qalinge. He’s another player that I knew growing up. We were close, therefore it became much easier for me to adapt as a young footballer because Thabo is a winger too. Besides scoring twice for Mbombela, I’ve also assisted with some goals, although the team isn’t finding the back of the net as much as we’d all like to. During our 1-1 draw with Steenberg United, a teammate cut the ball back to me. It was actually a cross that I hit with my right foot, while against JDR Stars, I scored from a bouncing ball, similar to a volley. In that 2-1 win, Kingston Nkhatha, who’s about 10 years older than me, also scored. His Absa Premiership experience has rubbed off on me. It’s great playing with him, but I’m not so good at headers (laughing). Sangweni and I have begun to gel again since his return in January. Just prior to the lockdown, I participated in the build-up to his important winner against Jomo Cosmos, which helped us move above them and out of the relegation zone.

PR: Do you have any thoughts on the current deadlock in our soccer and, should the GladAfrica Championship resume, can Mbombela grab enough points against the likes of Uthongathi FC, Real Kings and log leaders Ajax Cape Town to survive the dreaded drop?

MM:

We are facing a really tough time as a country because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I can’t really say exactly how I feel about the best way forward because there are many health risks associated with players and officials travelling around for matches. I guess that we’ll have to wait to hear from the football authorities. We were doing quite well before we had to stop, so I believe that the guys can avoid relegation and we will if the season continues.

PR: Thanks, Matjhaya. NM: Anytime, Peter. ❐