Usuthu captain rallies behind Mothwa after SuperSport howlers

AmaZulu FC captain Makhehleni Makhaola has pledged the side’s support for goalkeeper Veli Mothwa whose two howlers saw them lose their DStv Premiership fixture against SuperSport United last weekend. 

Mothwa fumbled what looked like an easy catch and the ball fell for Jesse Donn who pushed it into an unmanned goal. He also messed up a clearance and the ball ended on Rodney Rainers feet who sent it past Mothwa who was advancing to try and close the gap.

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Makhaola says it was human error and Mothwa has saved them from difficult situations in the past so they cannot blame him for the mistakes. 

“We played well and created many chances, it is just that when it is not your day… They didn’t create that many chances. It was just that we happened to make two mistakes and we didn’t cover our goalkeeper well,” said Makhaola. “He has helped us a lot last season and this season.  If it was not for him we would not have advanced to  the group stages. We do not blame him, we all make mistakes… We rally behind him 100%.” 

Usuthu are away for the Caf Champions League this weekend where they meet Tunisia’s ES Sétif at Stade du 5 Juillet on Saturday. 

The Durban side are second in Group B with six points, three behind leaders Raja Casablanca. They are ahead of Sétif by the same points and Horoya AC are last as they are yet to make any points. 

Makhaola says they need the three points to make sure they put themselves in a good position to advance to the knockout stages. 

“The mentality of the players is good, the coaches have prepared us really well. They (ES Sétif) have a new coach and it’s obvious they will want revenge. But we are going there with a good mentality. The preparations have been good and everything seems to be in order. 

“It is going to be a very difficult game for us away from home, but we have to win this game. They have nothing to lose so they will come at us with everything they have. 

“For us it will be more about trying to control the tempo of the game and how they come at us. 

“We need to make sure we don’t concede early and we take our chances. Chances will always be there, we create chances… We need to hit them on the counter. We both need the three points, but we need them more because if we get them it will put us in a good place to advance to the next stage.”