Mailula’s rise is good news for Sundowns
THE latest and last instalment of the Carling Black Label Cup probably had more significance than the previous editions, benefiting South African football.
Over the years, great rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs were the only teams that participated in the then pre-season competition after its inception in 2011.
But things changed this year.
Four teams with the most votes from the 16 Premiership sides took part in Saturday’s tournament as it kept its ethos of being the fans’ Cup.
As expected, the most endeared clubs in SA – Chiefs, Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu – won the most votes.
Debutants AmaZulu and Sundowns clashed in the first semi-final, where the latter hardly broke a sweat as they cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win at FNB Stadium.
The second semi-final between the Soweto giants was expected to serve as the main course. Instead, Pirates had to prevail on penalties after a dull draw.
The first half of the season has belonged to Pirates and Sundowns, given the fact that they won the
MTN8 and finished at the top of the league standings respectively.
And that’s why they were expected to produce a thrilling clash in the final.
Sundowns went on to prevail 4-0, but that wasn’t a true reflection of their dominance.
Sundowns were so good that Cassius Mailula proved why he could be the real deal after his peers from the youth ranks stuttered at the top.
After Percy Tau’s breakthrough at the Brazilians, a lot of youngsters were expected to follow in his footsteps. But few were able to cope.
Keletso Makgalwa and Promise Mkhuma are two examples that being good in the reserve team doesn’t necessarily mean you will be able to cut it in the first team.
But here is Mailula, 21, proving that with the right time and attitude, age is nothing but a number after filling in nicely for the injured Peter Shalulile.
Not only does Mailula get in the right scoring spaces, but he knows when to have a shot at goal. A feat that yielded three goals in two games on Saturday.
His rise is good news for Sundowns. The club will start paying more attention to their development ranks in search of players who are ready for the first team.
Sundowns will also been in search of more depth, while their investments could bear fruit should their players attract interest in Africa and Europe.
But the growth of players such Mailula augur well for Bafana Bafana’s Hugo Broos who likes working with youngsters.
Broos felt Mailula wasn’t ready for their two friendlies against Mozambique and Angola this week, given that he has been in form in recent weeks.
But with Mailula expected to grow from strength to strength in the second half of the season, Broos will have no choice but to consider him in March.