‘He was nowhere to be seen’ – Mohafe questions Kaizer Chiefs star’s Man of the Match Award

Polokwane City coach Phuti Mohafe has openly questioned the decision to name Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Lebohang Maboe as the Man of the Match following their goalless league draw at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

The two sides shared the points after a match where both teams failed to convert their chances. The result keeps Chiefs in third place on the DStv Premiership table with 46 points, while Polokwane City sits seventh with 34 points, with both teams having played 24 games.

Mohafe expressed pride in his team’s performance, stating that they created the better opportunities and successfully contained the Soweto giants. However, he was particularly perplexed by the choice for the post-match accolade, arguing that Maboe was largely ineffective throughout the game.

Mohafe surprised by Maboe accolade

“In the middle, we neutralised Maboe, we neutralised [Thabo] Cele,” Mohafe said in his post-match comments.

The Polokwane coach voiced his confusion directly, questioning the criteria for the award. “I’m so confused about how Maboe got the Man of the Match. I don’t know how he got it because he was nowhere to be seen on the field,” he stated.

“Whenever he got the ball, we were there. We won most of the balls from him. So how can you be a Man of the Match losing the balls?”

Was Kaizer Chiefs star wrongly awarded?

Mohafe went on to suggest that several of his own players were more deserving candidates for the award based on their performances.

“Let’s go back to who was marking Maboe,” he added. “And then we go again, we say we had Tlou [Nkwe] on the left side; he deserves the Man of the Match. You have [Mokibelo] Ramabu on the right side; he gave them problems. He deserves to be the Man of the Match.”

“So why not give them the Man of the Match?” he concluded.