Bafana Bafana star Relebohile Mofokeng once again underlined his importance for Orlando Pirates with a crucial goal in the Caf Champions League semi-final outing against Pyramids in Cairo on Friday, April 25.
Having settled for a 0-0 result in the first leg staged at the FNB Stadium, any win or scoring draw was enough to see them through. It ended 3-2 in favour of the Egyptian outfit, but one of the goals that caught the attention of many was Mofokeng's.
The 20-year-old was in the right place to receive a loose ball in the area before hitting it past the goalkeeper to give the Buccaneers the advantage. Even if the Soweto giants did not make the final, Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo has lauded the South Africa attacker.
He argues that the way Mofokeng hit the ball was exceptional, and there was no way the goalkeeper could have kept the ball out.
‘You’d think Mofokeng was standing looking up'
“We’re not surprised for this young man to perform the way he does. Look at that connection, the technique on it’s own. Look at that, Wow! At any given time, if I were to give out of 10 the strikers, even the man on my right [Jerry Sikhosana], he wouldn’t have finished like that,” he told SABC Sport.
Look at the body language, the technique he goes down with it. You’d think he was standing looking up.
It’s very rare you find a player finishing like that. There was no chance for the keeper. He’s moving with the ball, a player that knows that the keeper moves with the ball, he directed it to where he came from. That’s individual brilliance, a grass cutter,” Khumalo concluded.
Mofokeng hopes to help Pirates beat old rivals Kaizer Chiefs this weekend in the Premier Soccer League's Soweto derby on Saturday and a week later, the Nedbank Cup final against the same opponent.
