MTN8 final
SuperSport’s Gabuza hailed in Cup triumph
Thamsanqa Gabuza helped SuperSport United win the MTN8 cup by beating Highlands Park 1-0 at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday – two days after the burial of his son, who died earlier in the week.
Gabuza‚ who was named the man of the match and finished as the tournament’s top scorer‚ kept the news from his teammates and did not attend the funeral on Thursday because he did not want to upset the camp ahead of such a crucial match.
SuperSport coach Kaitano Tembo said after their triumph that the gangling former Orlando Pirates and Golden Arrows striker did not inform the team or attend his son’s funeral because he was concerned about disrupting the focus of the players ahead of the final.
“I think I’m a little bit emotional, but not because of the game‚” a sombre-looking Tembo said after he was asked for his reaction after winning his first trophy in only his second season as head coach of SuperSport.
“It’s because of the sad news I heard just after the game concerning Gabuza,” Tembo said.
“It’s something that he did and I was not even expecting him to do that.
“I won’t even encourage him to do that.
“I think he did what he did for the badge.
“This is what happened – he lost his son on Monday and he never told anyone.
“The funeral was on Thursday and he never attended because he only told us in the dressing room now‚” Tembo said during his official postmatch conference.
“This is what happened – he didn’t want to upset the camp because we were facing a very crucial game.
“For me, it [getting the news] just killed everything because I see someone who’s really committed‚ someone who a lot of players can learn from.
“He’s got to go through that and still play the way he played,” the coach said.
“Play a man-of-the-match performance like that [on] the back of what happened.
“I think, for me, I dedicate this win and this cup to him because I think from day one he really deserves [it].
“I think that’s the only sad part for me and it’s already hitting that someone can do that‚ probably doing it for the team and doing it for me.
“I appreciate that but at the very same time I’m also hurting,” the coach said.
Gabuza‚ who refused to talk to the media about his son or the game after the match‚ tried to hide his sadness in the changing room and celebrated with his teammates.
He joined SuperSport at the beginning of this season after six seasons at Pirates where he struggled to score or win any silverware in his last four years at the club.
He scored a paltry 11 goals in 95 matches for Bucs but seemed to have found his real home at SuperSport, where he has scored four goals in 11 appearances in all competitions.
Gabuza’s strike partner, Bradley Grobler, scored the winning goal as SuperSport beat Highlands Park 1-0 to capture their third top eight trophy – and the club’s second in three seasons after playing in the last three of the competition’s cup finals. –