Mngqithi Pleased For Maluleka – iDiski Times

Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has said they were very happy to see George Maluleka make the most of his chance in their 3-0 win over Al Merrikh on Saturday.

Maluleka was one of the goalscorers on the day, heading in the opener at FNB Stadium.

Maluleka has seen limited game time since joining Sundowns from Kaizer Chiefs, but Mngqithi said he has been unlucky, and has been working very hard to get a chance.

“As a coach, and I’m sure all the coaches would feel the same, because a lot has been said about him, but the truth of the matter is, we must give credit to the boy,” Mngqithi said at the post match press conference.

“He has worked very hard, very hard to get himself into the team. And he’s been unfortunate in many other instances where he would be in the team that we earmarked for the game, and he gets injured in the last day of training before the match.

“And he’s had, maybe those scenarios, maybe three, four times this season, when we finally saw him getting a chance and starting a match, it’s what we all want it.

“Because if you have seen how much weight he has lost, I think he has lost more than 7kg from the time he came at Sundowns. And that is very big. And consistently so because this year, he has been in top shape from the beginning, but very unlucky whenever an opportunity has to come.

“And we are happy that finally he got an opportunity and he also scored a very, very good goal that you would not expect from George, to be honest.

“But you know George in the past was a striker. And he was good in the air, at some point. So when he scored it, we really appreciated it because it shows how multi-functional he can be. And there is still more he can offer the club.”