Golden Arrows mentor Manqoba Mngqithi wants to see at least three KwaZulu-Natal teams in the top eight, explaining teams from the province have improved this season.
At the moment, KwaZulu-Natal has three sides in the top eight in AmaZulu (fourth), Durban City (seventh) and Arrows (eighth). The province’s other outfit, Richards Bay, is 11th on the table and four points away from a top-eight spot.
“It would be nice to have more than three KwaZulu-Natal teams in the top eight, but three would still be OK if you consider what happened last season. There has been a tremendous improvement in how KwaZulu-Natal teams have performed this year,” Mngqithi stated.
“We should be very grateful for that because I think we all have very young teams, which is encouraging because it’s a project that’s ongoing with potential to improve.”
The Arrows coach also likes the fact that KwaZulu-Natal teams have reduced their squads’ average ages this season. AmaZulu have the youngest squad in the province with an average age of 26,1 years, while Durban’s 28,3 means they have the oldest among the four KwaZulu-Natal teams. Arrows’ average squad age is 26,8, while Bay’s is 27,7.
“I think I am averaging around 22 [in fact it’s 26,8], probably with one or two players who normally increase that average, but I think the team has improved a lot in that regard,” Mngqithi stated.
“I see AmaZulu have some interesting youngsters including Zikhali, Hlangabeza and Maqokolo. They have a lot of boys who are really interesting with a good return on investment for KwaZulu-Natal.”
Mngqithi picked a few players who have impressed him at Durban and Bay, and vouched for AmaZulu’s right-back to be Khuliso Mudau’s understudy at Bafana.
“Durban have got very interesting young boys such [Kyle] Jurgens, [Samkelo] Maseko, [Saziso] Magawana,” the Arrows coach said.
“At AmaZulu there’s also [Sabelo] Radebe at right-back, who in my opinion should be a cover [to first-choice Mudau] at the national team. He’s been doing very well. I think he’s got six assists and four goals and that’s very big for a fullback.
“For me those are suggestions that there’s a lot of positives in KwaZulu-Natal football. If you look at Richards Bay, those Mthembus [Moses], Zikhalis [Lindokuhle] in the midfield, they’ve also got huge potential.”
Sowetan
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.