It’s always great to contribute on the pitch – Arubi

Washington Arubi embodied the age-old phrase that says goalkeepers age like fine wine when he displayed heroic saves to help Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila reach their maiden cup final, beating out-going champions Mamelodi Sundowns 6-5 on penalties on Sunday

Arubi saved a Hlompho Kekana spot-kick to add to his countless brilliant saves in the game.

ALSO READ: TTM knock Sundowns out of Nedbank Cup to reach first ever cup final

It was for the second time this season that he was named Man-of-the-Match and incidentally, he got his first gong against Chippa United in the league, who TTM will face in the Nedbank Cup final on May 8 at the Free State Stadium.

Speaking to Phakaaathi, Arubi says reaching the final is just a cherry on top for the Venda-based side, but the main thing for them is to focus on protecting their DStv Premiership status, as they sit in serious relegation danger.

“We don’t want to be disturbed and forget about the league because we need to survive, but everyone is looking forward to the final. Now we have to focus on the eight league games that are left. All those games will be like cup finals to us, so that … come the day of the final we are not stressing. The cup will be a bonus for each and every person who is involved with the team, but we cannot forget that we have a long way to go,” he said.

Having spent the whole of last season playing second fiddle to Ronwen Williams at SuperSport United, the 35-year-old is grateful that he finally got to play a role in his team’s success.

“People have goals … as a goalkeeper, you always want to play and when the team reaches a cup final and you are playing, it is pleasing because it shows that you have done something for the team,” he said.

“When you keep your head up and don’t look at the negatives, at the end of the day hard work always pays off. I will continue working hard to help the team survive. As goalkeepers, when you are not playing, you are making the person (ahead of you) better, because you compete every day and they know that you are waiting on the side. At the end of the day, we always support whoever is playing because we have to put the team first,” Arubi added.