Manqoba Mngqithi picks two key Safranko moments

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has picked two key moments of Pavol Safranko.

The Slovakian forward scored nine goals during his one season at Sundowns before the club decided to let him go.

Safranko has since rejoined his former club – Romania outfit Sepsi OSK. Mngqithi said they remained grateful for the 27-year-old’s contributions.

“Pavol is gone, [Abubeker] Nasir is in. He scored nine goals. He did very well. Maybe we wanted something different, and we believe we’re on track,” Mngqithi told the media.

He pointed out two moments where Safranko was the difference for Sundowns.

“He helped us get into the MTN8 final, and he also helped us get into the Nedbank Cup s we must appreciate that.”

Safranko key moments

On August 28, 2021, Safranko came off the bench to score a late equaliser which kept Sundowns’ aspirations of winning the MTN8 alive after their 1-1 draw with Golden Arrows.

Despite dominating local football for the last decade, Sundowns had struggled to win the MTN8 Cup.

On 30 April 2022, Safranko was on target as Sundowns beat Royal AM 2-1 to book a place in the Nedbank final which they went on to win.

He explained that their decision was not so much about the lanky striker’s quality but how they wanted to play as a team. 

“At times, it’s not about the quality of the player but the type of game we want to play,” he said.

Safranko, who made 29 appearances in all competitions, is back with the club he played for before the move to Sundowns.

His replacement Nasir, an Ethiopian international, has started well, scoring two goals in three substitute appearances. 

The 22-year-old was on target against Kaizer Chiefs in the 4-0 massacre and SuperSport on Sunday. He scored the second goal as Sundowns beat SuperSport 2-0.