On Friday, Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena responded to criticism of Thapelo Maseko, the soon-to-be 20-year-old winger who had been signed by the club but had yet to make an impact. Maseko had been criticized by a section of fans for having all the pace but lacking the end product and that perhaps his signing was hyped. However, since the international break, Maseko had put in impressive performances, scoring a crucial goal in the Brazilians’ 2-0 win over Petro de Luanda in the African Football League quarter-final first-leg, as well as the only goal of the match for the Tshwane giants in their 1-0 victory over Al Ahly in the AFL semi-final first-leg.
Mokwena had an emotional embrace with Maseko after he scored and said that the emotions of the goal were not motivated by the criticism the winger had received, but by the fact that the instructions from the half-time team talk worked. He appealed for patience for Maseko to settle in and said that his game will eventually improve, like other players who were new in the setup.
“He doesn’t need to thank me, if there is any backing, any support it is just me doing my job. I think I embrace almost all the players when they score,” Mokwena said in a press conference. “I think this one was a little bit emotional because 40 percent of my half-time team talk was directed to Thapelo (Maseko) about certain movements and I think that was maybe that’s why it was a bit more emotional than he realized that. We’ve got to be patient with him, like we were with other players who were new in the setup. As I cried for patience with Cassius last season and we saw an incline,” he added.
