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.
Victory at Loftus! Time to gear up for the away leg! ✅🔜
Mamelodi Sundowns (52' Maseko) 1⃣➖0⃣ Al Ahly#Sundowns #DownsLive #AFL pic.twitter.com/88gjmn4z2n
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 29, 2023
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.
