Rama Calls For All Hands On Deck Against Chiefs

AmaZulu defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele says, if his teammates are hoping to rely on his experience since Amakhosi are his former club, then that will be the wrong approach against Kaizer Chiefs.

He said everyone has to pull in one direction as Usuthu will host Chiefs in the MTN8 second leg semi final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (15:30).

Usuthu scored the vital goal in the first leg at FNB Stadium earlier this month, and will know that keeping things as they are will be enough to face Orlando Pirates in the final on 5 November at the same venue.

However, Mphahlele’s experience will come in handy since he spent six fruitless years with Amakhosi.

He joined the club from Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of the 2016/17 season before seeing his contract at Chiefs not renewed at the end of last season.

He then found a new home by joining Usuthu, and coach Romain Folz will rely on him at the back with Veli Mothwa, Abbubaker Mobara, Thembela Sikhakhane and Rian Hanamub.

“Every game we all have a role to play,” said Mphahlele.

George Maluleka will also come up against his former club as when Chiefs won this cup at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in 2014/15 season, he provided an assist for Tefu Mashamaie to finish it off.

“We are aware of the magnitude of this game in front of us,” continued Mphahlele.

“We have to pitch, we have to bring our A- game and try to lead the team into a positive result. So it is going to be very important because we are on the verge of going to the final and we are looking forward to the game.”

Mphahlele has been in three cup finals played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, winning just once and losing the other.

He was part of Moroka Swallows side that lost to Pirates on penalties in the same competition in the 2010/11 season.

He won the Telkom Knockout with Sundowns in the 2015/16 season when the Tshwane giants beat Chiefs. However, Mphahlele, who was Sundowns captain then, did not form part of the game as he was out injured, allowing stand-in captain Thabo Nthete to lift the trophy.

Another loss came at the same venue with Chiefs, who were embarrassed in the Nedbank Cup final in 2018/19 season by then NFD side TS Galaxy.

Had he not been loaned out to University of Pretoria in the 2012/13 season in the first round, Mphahlele would have been part of Sundowns side that lost the TKO final to Bloemfontein Celtic in that season.

Mphahlele seemed to be getting his groove right on time for Usuthu, especially in the last two matches. However, Usuthu has not won those matches under coach Folz.

“I’m just happy to be contributing to the team, that’s all that matters to me,” said Mphahlele.

“If the team does well, the chances are we are all going to do well on Sunday.”

In this edition of iDiski Times, we talk to former Kaizer Chiefs player Daniel Cardoso, who reveals how Steve Komphela and Eric Tinkler changed his career, he also talks about how Sekhukhune can rise up the table. We also spoke to SAFA’s new Technical Director, Walter Steenbok and the former Kaizer Chiefs scout explains how he wants to fix South African football, while former Bafana Bafana international turned player agent Lance Davids shares his views on the current “soft”  generation of players and why he believes Teboho Mokoena can still go to Europe in future. We also spoke to Romain Folz, who explains his inspiration from Carlo Ancelotti, while in the rumours section we heard about Erwin Saavedra’s injury setback and Thembinkosi Lorch’s extended issues on the sidelines. Read the full edition of iDiski Times below: