Silenced by City for 120 minutes, Mokwena still lauds Shalulile’s influence

It is not often that Peter Shalulile is kept quiet for 90 minutes but Cape Town City outdid themselves when they neutralized the lethal striker for 120 minutes in the MTN8 final where they lost to Mamelodi Sundowns on penalties.

Downs co-head coach Rhulani Mokwena said the technical team did not even think of substituting Shalulile and their decision was the right one as Shalulile netted his spot-kick to help Downs win 3-2.

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“He scores goals for us and it was a cup final. We saw him a couple of times last season where he helped us snatch three points in the death in the league. He always has the ability to come up with a goal and he always runs and sacrifices for the team allows us to not only keep him on the pitch for his goals but he personifies the mentality that we like to see on the pitch.

“It is very difficult to take out your top goal scorer in a cup final when you need goals,” said Mokwena.

Downs popped the champagne all weekend long to celebrate their victory after a 14-year drought in this competition, where this triumph marks their maiden success under the MTN sponsorship.

While previous generations have failed to get their hands on the MTN8 trophy, Mokwena says credit must go to the current crop of players, while also illuminating the role played by those who came before them.   

“You cannot forget the contribution of the previous group because we are sitting in a situation where we have to win every single match. Our football heritage traces way back and this current group had the possibility to win the MTN8 because of the work done by the previous group last season that qualified for the MTN8 by winning the league,” said Mokwena.

He added: “In that previous group we had the contributions of Hompho Kekana, Tebogo Langerman, Tiyani Mabunda and many others who are unfortunately not part of this group. When we speak about this group and the success of the MTN8, we must not forget that there were generations before that created a winning culture in this club. Everyone has the responsibility to leave the Sundowns jersey higher than where they found it.”