‘He looked decent’ Maswanganyi lauded after replacing Zwane

Published on by Willis Sob, updated on

South Africa legend Benedict Vilakazi believes Patrick Maswanganyi did well when he replaced Themba Zwane against Congo.

The two nations faced each other in Brazzaville in Group K's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier that ended 1-1. However, it did not end well for Zwane who suffered an Achilles injury after just 40 minutes.

As a result, Orlando Pirates midfielder Maswanganyi was introduced by coach Hugo Broos to fill that void.

Tito had good touches – Vilakazi

A section of Bafana fans felt the Pirates man struggled to insert needed authority in midfield just like Zwane.

Themba Zwane Bafana Bafana 1

However, “Tso” feels otherwise, “[Maswanganyi] looked decent, he had good touches. It's just that you know when you make a mistake, we will be on your case especially when we see that the game is so tight,” he told iDiski Times.

“When you get that opportunity or even half a chance you need to make it count. He had a decent game; he didn’t lose balls too much. He was there controlling the ball, and he had good passes.

“He was supposed to compliment his game by tapping in from that cross which I believe was the only chance we had. He had a decent game, and I think the more he’s going to play he’ll get used to the guys, get used to the system, get used to playing.

“That’s why it’s so important for our teams to play CAF games. You can see that if he was used to playing on a high tempo against the guys in Africa it was going to be easier for him. I mean you could see at times he made some runs to chase where he wasn’t supposed to chase. It tells you that the experience of not playing in CAF also counts but I’m happy with his performance.”

Will Maswanganyi get another chance?

Patrick Maswanganyi

Bafana Bafana are currently second in Group K with eight points, two less than leaders Uganda who have won three matches in the pool and drawn one.

Congo are third with four points, while the Bright Stars remain at the bottom of the group having won no game nor collected a single point.

Maswanganyi might be given a chance to show his worth in the next couple of weeks against Uganda and South Sudan respectively.

‘He looked decent’ Maswanganyi lauded after replacing Zwane

Willis Sob

Willis Sob is an experienced journalist who has been in the game since 2009, covering major assignments around the continent.
His hunger for African football is unmatched, always getting the best angles and facts to feed the fans and quench their thirst.