What Zitha Told Ngezana Amid Fan Criticism

Zitha Kwinika admits Siyabonga Ngezana needs to man up amid the criticism from Kaizer Chiefs fans and admitted he will need his support too when things don’t go his way.

Ngezana has been subject to widespread criticism from the club’s fans after several errors early on in the season during Amakhosi defeats in the DStv Premiership.

As I sat in the stands at Danie Craven, supporters hurled insults at the player while he warmed up which is something that surely affected his confidence despite the public support from head coach Arthur Zwane who is a clear admirer of his talents.

“We all signed up for this in football. It will be tough, it’s not going to be easy and I think that’s where your emotional intelligence comes in,” Kwinika said at Naturena Village this week.

“I think in the phase Siya went [through], we pushed him and supported him and I told him that one day my day will come and I will need you to pull me because we’re in this together.

“If you can count how many mistakes the offensive players make, I don’t know. But because it’s now us defenders and goalkeepers it’s closer to the goal. So every time you do it, it’s like here and there.

“But to be honest, everyone in the team, everyone in life, in general, makes mistakes and will make more mistakes – it’s trying to understand that and take it, you need to take [the criticism] at some point, no matter how hard it is, you need to man up and move with it.”

The 24-year-old has amassed 105 appearances for the Amakhosi first-team since graduating from the academy system back in the 2016/17 season.