It’s not a nice feeling at all
On his brace against his former side Baroka FC
An extremely emotional game for me because I’ve been going through a lot of things, off the field... personally. So, they kind of affected my game a bit in recent times. I’m not ready to talk about it just yet, but I thank my teammates for the incredible support they gave me. They’ve been there for me throughout. Nevertheless, a great game that we needed to win at all costs. Every game is like a cup final for us right now, so it was great to help the team on the day. It worked out well for us, especially after going a goal down first. Very happy with the two goals I scored. Emotional to do so against my former side, but it is football.
On the red card he received
It never crossed my mind that I would get a red card in that manner. I guess sometimes as players, we tend to get overly-excited and, at the same time, very frustrated. I let my emotions get the better of me and I paid the price for that. I guess that’s how we learn. I have already apologised to the team because I was wrong. I realise just what my absence will mean and I regret it because right now, every single player is key to the team, not just me. We need each other to be present the most now. Hopefully I will come back stronger and help
the team finish the season on a high note.
On his Bafana snub
It’s definitely every player’s dream to represent their country and, believe you me, I am no different. But at the same time, we need to know that the coach has his own philosophies and will select players he feels will best do the job for him. And opposition teams are never the same. Who knows, maybe I will get my call-up when the coach feels I can help the squad against other teams. I will appreciate to play for Bafana Bafana again, but to be honest, it (not getting selected) is not affecting my game right now. I will keep working hard and doing what I
know best at Cape Town City.
On Baroka’s situation on the DStv Premiership standings
Like I said, I’m happy to have scored two goals on the day, but somewhat sad to have done it against Baroka. It’s my former team and they will always hold a special place in my heart. They gave me an opportunity and I wouldn’t want to see them going down. After they scored first, we knew they would sit back and try to protect their lead and they did exactly that, which gave us a lot of spaces. After they got the red card, that’s when we started to make it difficult for them and it was important to get a goal quickly, and we did that. From there, that’s when everything fell apart for them. I feel they got it wrong when they tried to protect their goal. I spoke to the guys and the coach after the game, and I hope they will pick up points in the remaining games. I have been there on this relegation battle journey with them before and, trust me, it’s not a nice feeling at all. I know what the guys are going through right now, it’s nerve-wrecking and I wish them all the very best. These are people I know very well and have strong bonds with even today.
On his individual targets
My goals are always simple, and that’s to score as many goals as possible. I don’t set out how many goals I want to score when the season starts, to be honest. I want to just enjoy every game and score as many goals as I can, every season. I’m never after the Golden Boot, but I focus rather on helping the team. I’d rather say I want to score and help the team finish in the top two or top three.
On Cape Town City’s log position
To be honest, we don’t care too much about where we are right now. We don’t want to distract ourselves too much. We are just focused on winning one game at a time. We had a slow start to the season, we are happy we are starting to pick up when it matters the most. As I said, we are not looking at, ‘If we win this one, we will be third or if we win this one, we will go second.’ No, we are taking it one game at a time. The belief is there, we are confident that we can finish as high as possible. We want to finish higher than where we are right now.
On his future with the club
Look, my contract still has one more season to go. I will only leave the club if the club says to me, ‘Here’s a good offer and we give you our blessings to go elsewhere.’ If and when they want to release me, I will move, but if they also want to keep me, then I will also stay because this club has become family to me. For now, there has been no official interest and it’s not something I am looking at completely.
Mduduzi Mdantsane, Cape Town City midfielder