Maswanganyi opens up on early sub against Sundowns – ‘It was difficult but I had to understand’

Orlando Pirates midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi won a Man of the Match Award on Tuesday after helping the Soweto giants beat the newly promoted team in the Premier Soccer League assignment.

Lebone Seema scored the only goal of the match in the first half to ensure the Sea Robbers collected their second win in the ongoing campaign. However, the focus was on Tito who, just a couple of days earlier, had been subbed in the first half against Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Bafana Bafana international had struggled to deliver in the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final, explaining the 37th-minute substitution. The Buccaneers ended up winning on penalties to set up a final with Steve Barker's Stellenbosch.

The 27-year-old has now opened up on how his first-half sub against Masandawana impacted him ahead of the fixture against Orbit College and the conversation he had with coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.

‘I got over it'

“I think it’s the love that I get from my teammates, they make sure that I push, I think they know that as long as I’m here, I’m going to work hard for them. During the week, the game that we played against Mamelodi Sundowns it was a difficult game but I got over it because the coach spoke to me,” he told the media.

“I had to understand that the decision that he made – I had to understand it’s not personal, it’s a tactical decision and we knew it’s going to help us during the game. So [on Tuesday] I had to come and play, and I did well.

“I think I’m very old to get disappointed, I think you need to man up and you need to show the younger ones that even though the coach does a decision you think is bad, but it’s good for the team, as long as the team is winning and we know what we’re working towards,” the South Africa star added.

“It [the Man of the Match Award] means a lot. Last season, I didn’t even get one, so yeah, I’m working very hard to collect more. It’s not the first and not the end,” he concluded.