Jali selection poser for Pitso

Andile Jali has given his coach Pitso Mosimane a good selection headache ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns’ Absa Premiership clash against Bloemfontein Celtic at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium on Wednesday night.

Mosimane handed Jali a rare start in their Champions League preliminary stage win over Otoho d’Oyo at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday and the former Bafana Bafana midfielder responded with a solid performance.

This has left the Sundowns coach with a selection poser in midfield in the Celtic match as captain Hlompho Kekana is available after he missed the Caf outing against Otoho d’Oyo due to suspension.

“It is a good problem to have‚” Mosimane said, while agreeing that Jali had a good game against Otoho.

“I needed him more on the ball‚ I kept telling him that he needs more touches and he needs to play more.

“Rivaldo Coetzee kept the position right‚ passed well and showed that he is at a good level.

“He [Jali] needs to take this performance as a motivation going forward because competition is really tough.

“Everybody who is playing in that midfield is playing well.

“We kept Tiyani Mabunda out‚ not because he is not playing well but because I believed Andile deserved a run.

“I also owe Oupa [Manyisa] a run because he is the one who hasn’t got game time and he must get a chance to play.

“I still have Sammy Seabi‚ who played one of his good games against Chippa United‚ I have Motjeka Madisha‚ who also played very well against Chippa, and Lyle Lakay also played well last week.

“I told the players that the cake is too big and they must share the load because the season is a long one.”

Looking ahead to the Celtic encounter‚ where they will be looking to get back to winning ways after two 1-1 draws in the league, against Chippa United and Cape Town City‚ Mosimane expects a tough game.

“This league has become different because anyone can beat anyone.” –