SuperSport coach Cavin Johnson showed his confidence in the player as he played the entire 90 minutes, and displayed his superb skills and deft touches combined with brilliant passing. Supersport won the match 2-1.
“I am impressed with Lebo, though he did not shine as expected on the field of play,” said Johnson. “I liked the way he controls the ball, the runs he makes, his well timed passes and the ability to read the game.
“I hope in the long run, as he gets used to his team-mates and they also understand his style of play, he will be able to sparkle. It might take him a little while to adjust as he has to understand 10 other players, while his team-mates have just him to familiarise themselves with.”
Johnson said the beauty with Manyama was that he was a versatile player who could play anywhere in the middle of the park and on both wings with ease.
“I will have to see in training which position he plays better at and how he combines with the other players, and which players up-front in particular does he combine well with. All this needs some time to come to the fore,” Johnson said.
In the match, SuperSport being the visiting side opted to absorb the pressure in the first half and ensured they did not concede. Their strategy paid dividends and the teams went into the halftime break at 0-0.
Johnson introduced lanky Senegalese striker Mame Niang and another debutant, Dino Ndlovu, and his tactics paid off.
Niang headed home a brilliant cross into the box to give SuperSport the lead. For the visitors second, Ndlovu also received a superb pass and broke the offside trap to beat Pirates goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa to go 2-0 up. Pirates scored a consolation goal in the dying minutes of the game.
