Kimberly Diamond’ hopes to seal pride membership of the Lions of the North
JOBURG -– Hendry 'Tea Bag' Lekhoathi, also known as the 'Kimberly Diamond', hopes to fit into the Lions of the North pride like a hand in glove.
Hendry Lekhoathi could hardly contain his excitement at the news of his pairing with the Lions of the North, as Highlands Park is fondly known.
When his name was called out and drawn with Highlands, Lekhoathi punched their air in delight and shouted ‘yes, yes’ as he stood up to receive his cap for his new team from assistant coach Victor Tshabalala.
Lekhoathi, along with 18 of his former teammates at the Nedbank Ke Yona Team of 2019, has been paired with the 16 teams of the Absa Premiership in a draw conducted at the Nedbank headquarters in Sandton.
GladAfrica Championship side TS Galaxy, who are the current holders of the Nedbank Cup 2019 after brushing aside the ‘cup kings of SA football’, Kaizer Chiefs, in May, were honoured with the right to choose their preferred pair of players from the Ke Yona Team.
The remaining 16 players were then paired with the 16 teams of the Absa Premiership via a draw system. The 23-year-old Lekhoathi, known to his teammates as Tea Bag because of his heavy eyelids after a sleepless night of partying, said he was over the moon to learn that he was part of the pride of the north.
Asked why he was so excited to be part of this northern pride, Tea Bag told the North Eastern Tribune he was so delighted because he was joining a team that has the same style of play as his. “I have seen watched them play and I think I fit into the team like a hand in glove,” he said.
The centre-back defender alluded to the mobility of the team in both attack and defence, saying they attack as a unit and defend as a unit as well. “I am also highly mobile at the back. I constantly venture into attack when there is a need but also quickly streak back to defend.”
Lekhoathi started his football career way back in 2009 with Hope United, an amateur side from his hometown, Kimberley in the Northern Cape, which he still played for up to the time he was snapped up during the Ke Yona Team trials.
“I know the ball is in my court to prove myself in order to seal my membership of the pride. Like the lions that must kill and provide for the pride, I intend to do just that, bring the deliverables to the pride in order to be accepted,” said the ‘Kimberley diamond’, who also expressed his confidence in cracking into the pride permanently.
If the amount of delight exhibited by Lekhoathi on his pairing with Highlands Park could be matched with on the pitch deliverables, then it could be safely said the ‘cub’ could seal its fate among members of the pride of the north.
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