AmaZulu coach Romain Folz has no concern about his goalie Veli Mothwa, who has a couple of times almost been caught trying to dribble from the back.
In the club’s win over Stellenbosch FC on Sunday, Mothwa, instead of clearing the ball, tried to dribble and was almost caught by the opponents’ press, luckily coming away.
He had the shock of his life in doing this last season, as Usuthu lost to SuperSport United, trying to dribble from the back but was caught, leaving then coach Benni McCarthy livid.
There was also the same incident against Chippa United last season at Kings Park Stadium, trying to dribble from the back, but was caught by Bienvenu Eva Nga.
Recently on the international duty with Bafana Bafana in September against Botswana, Mothwa again was almost caught, leaving former Bafana star midfielder and SABC pundit Doctor Khumalo having ago at him, saying it was unacceptable especially at that level since he was given a rare chance to start ahead of captain and number one goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
With Orlando Pirates coming up in the MTN8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (18:00), Mothwa’s dribbling from the back was a topic at the pre-match press conference.
“In this sequence it has only happened once, which was against Stellenbosch and over the course of four games, I don’t think it has happened in every game,” Folz said.
“I think he got caught up in the moment and I think it is a minor event in the game.”
Over the weekend, Zambian midfielder Rally Bwalya finally scored his first goal for Usuthu, riffling outside the box to beat Sage Stephens, to see Folz register his first win in South Africa in nine matches overall and four with AmaZulu.
Bwalya, who was signed from Simba SC in Tanzania, looks set to start the match against Pirates in the midfield three with George Maluleka and trigger man Makhehleni Makhaula, with Keagan Buchanan set to be sacrificed.
“I think he needs the amount of playing time to develop every game to deliver performances on a regular basis,” Folz added.
“Technically, he is a very good player as you can see. He just needs a little bit more awareness on when to play away from the pressure because very often there are opportunities to turn and play elsewhere, but it is minor details that can be sorted out. He can still do much better and his improvement is big.”
