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Wednesday, April 23, 2025
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Mamelodi Sundowns’ Manqoba Mngqithi praises Kaizer Chiefs’ youngsters despite 4-0 Carling Knockout rout

Lunga Biyela|Published

Kaizer Chiefs’ Samkelo Zwane fights Mamelodi Sundowns’ Lucas Ribeiro during their Carling Knockout Cup quarter-final at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday Kaizer Chiefs’ Samkelo Zwane fights Mamelodi Sundowns’ Lucas Ribeiro during their Carling Knockout Cup quarter-final at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday. Photo: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi on Saturday expressed his admiration of Kaizer Chiefs’ young players after their Carling Knockout Cup quarter-final.

Sundowns advanced to the semis of the tournament after an emphatic 4-0 win, with a number of Kaizer Chiefs’ young stars showing their inexperience at times.

For the first goal, Samkelo Zwane took too much time on the ball and was easily dispossessed, leading to Njabulo Blom giving away a penalty.

Also in the first half, Wandile Duba was shown an unnecessary yellow card for arguing with the referee, while Mduduzi Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi also struggled.

However, despite the youngsters’ struggles, Mngqithi felt they were a talented bunch, some of whom he would love to have at his club.

“I don’t want to sound bad, but I think the youngsters that Kaizer Chiefs has brought into their first team are very good young boys,” Mngqithi was quoted by FARPost.

“Shabalala is a big factor in the game, and he also had some very good moments today [Saturday]. Duba played exceptionally well. I believe this is the feeling I have when I look at these boys. Vilakazi, when he’s given a chance, they are all very good football players.”

However, he wary about the amount of pressure they were being put under, and how much was expected from them at this early stage in their career.

“The biggest mistake that you can make with players like those [youngsters] is to put the load of a team as big as Kaizer Chiefs on their shoulders,” Mngqithi continued.

“But honestly speaking, I think those are exceptionally gifted players; I would love to have them on my team, as well. I don’t want to lie to you.

“… Maybe the people we target. We don’t target youngsters; we target mostly senior players because we know some of the shortcomings they would have. But these youngsters, I don’t want to lie to you; they are all very impressive.”

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Mamelodi Sundowns’ Manqoba Mngqithi praises Kaizer Chiefs’ youngsters despite 4-0 Carling Knockout rout