Former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Innocent Mayoyo has insisted Siyabonga Mpontshane should have received the Man of the Match award for his performance in the Soweto Derby and is not to blame for Yusuf Maart’s wonder goal.
Maart beat Mpontshane from his own half in the 74th minute of the match to score one of the best goals in Soweto Derby history.
However, Mayoyo insisted that people shouldn’t forget about Mpontshane’s heroics in the first half of the match when he twice denied Ashley Du Preez.
“I think on the day Chiefs was on song, it’s only that I still want to see a rule that a Man of the Match can only come from the team that has won,” he told Thabiso Mosia on SAFM’s Sport On.
“Because when you are talking performance on the day, I don’t think there was a player that performed more than Mpontshane on the day.
“If you look at the game very well, he did some splendid saves in one-vs-one where he was faced with a player [Du Preez] without any defender.
“For me, I think without the goal, if the game had ended in a draw, Mpontshane would’ve won Man of the Match He is still my Man of the Match!”
Mayoyo also said that people should stop blame Mpontshane for being caught off his line because that’s what is expected of him in Jose Riveiro’s system.
“How do you blame a modern goalkeeper that is always been told when we attack, you are the No.1 attacking player,” he added.
“Because honestly speaking, you can’t compare this one with the attempt the late Senzo saved against Celtics.
“A boy hit the same ball by the half-way line beyond Senzo, but Senzo got to that ball on that day. What was the reason?
“The reason was, the ball was with Bloemfontein Celtic, contrary to what we saw in this match. The ball was with Orlando Pirates. Surely, as a goalkeeper, they are jumping the half-way line, what must you do, can you sit on the line?
“You can’t sit on the line, you need to join. You need to join with your defenders, you need to be pushing everybody forward.
“Maybe, maybe the only thing he could’ve done, knowing where he was, being able to count the steps as he’s going back and take a leap. The only thing he didn’t was to take a leap, take one foot off the ground, get up there, one hand up, you touch that ball, it’s a breath-taking save, it’s the save of the year, like the goal of the year.”
