Bafana Bafana forward Cassius Mailula made his Major League Soccer debut for Toronto FC in their 2-0 defeat against Columbus Crew.
It’s another damaging defeat for interim coach Terry Dunfield and it appears the club need to make a coaching decision sooner, rather than later in a disappointing 2023 season.
But Mailula was a positive based on the reactions of supporters and on social media as he was introduced just after the hour mark for a cameo appearance.
While he only had nine touches of the ball as the home side dominated possession, he made it count with four out of four passes completed, two shots, one of which the upright of goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
Pre-match it rather spoke to the way he described himself to TFC Republic: “I’m not really a complicated player.
“I’m just one person who likes to score goals, to just see myself being on the pitch.
“I like to be free, to showcase my talent, and enjoy it because the most important thing is to just enjoy football.”
His movement proved to be something of a different dimension to the TFC attack and his exciting debut is likely to see him feature more prominently alongside Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi in the front-three.
