Amid the criticism and backlash that Mamelodi Sundowns’ rising star Thato Sibiya is facing, defender Grant Kekana has spoken highly of the SA U20 international.
Sibiya was one of the two players, alongside Divine Lunga, who were substituted at half-time by coach Miguel Cardoso. This was after Sundowns found itself surprisingly trailing TS Galaxy 2-0 at the break during their Nedbank Cup tie over the weekend due to costly defensive errors.
It was one of those “bad days in the office” for the 19-year-old, who conceded a penalty for the second goal. The mistake proved to be costly as it later resulted in Sundowns being knocked out of the competition.
Mixed reactions from fans
Some fans were critical of Cardoso’s decision to substitute the teenager at half-time. They called for the youngster to be protected instead of being made to feel like he was to blame for the loss. Some criticised Sibiya on social media. Cardoso even attributed his side’s Nedbank Cup exit to costly individual errors during his post-match press conference.
“We have the quality to win matches, but we can’t go into matches where we’re losing 2-0 like we did today. This is a shot in the foot,” Cardoso said at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga.
“The team that started today had all the conditions to win the match. But unfortunately, we shot ourselves in the foot, two shots and one in each foot.”
Kekana, who was not present on the day, recently heaped praises on the U20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) winner. He stated that Sibiya has made good progress, and that he has a bright future ahead of him.
Nothing but praise from defender
“No, Thato has been good, especially given the way they progressed from the DDC to the senior team. He has been training with us since last year. So his officially being part of the team was not anything new to him,” Kekana said.
“He just had a responsibility, but you can see he is already comfortable with us. He’s a top talent who has a bright future ahead, and there is more coming from him. Our job, especially as senior players, is to be there to guide them [youngsters]. And to remind them what it takes to play for Sundowns,” Kekana added.
Sibiya made his official senior team debut in January this year against Orbit College FC. There, he walked away with the man-of-the-match accolade.
Sundowns will return to league action on Tuesday night against AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. And it is yet to be seen if Sibiya will make the matchday squad. The game will get underway at 7.30pm.
