Why Sundowns’ Safranko needs a little more time to shine

Peter Shalulile can probably play five games a week and still maintain the same level of energy that he displays for Mamelodi Sundowns week-in week-out. At this point, and given his award-winning showing last season, it is safe to say he is the first name on the paper that Downs coaches write their starting line-up on, and he is probably the reason why Pavol Safranko and Thabiso Kutumela have had limited game time so far in the new season.

ALSO READ: ‘Annoyed’ Arrows coach Seema targets MTN8

Masandawana co-head coach Rulani Mokwena did not dismiss the possibility of the duo making their full debuts on Saturday against Golden Arrows in the first-leg of their MTN8 semifinal. However, he did hint that Safranko could possibly wait a little longer before he gets more minutes.

“We know what he offers us. The recruitment process at Sundowns is quite extensive, we have different pairs of eyes to be able to analyse and lead the scouting,” said Mokwena.

“We knew that we needed a little bit more than a mobile striker, we wanted someone who can assist us against teams that sit a little bit deeper and we could see that when he came on against Chippa United, he was doing well. The quality that he gives us is not only to link up play in the box, but he holds it up well, he is very comfortable with his back to goal and he is very deadly inside the box.

“Kutumela is a player who I know very well, he does not need too much adaptation apart from working to compete for a place in the team but Pavol needs a lot of adaptation time.”

In preparing for the game against Abafana Bes’thende, Mokwena suggested that they are struggling to plot against Arrows in the way they would want to, saying the unpredictability of Lehlohonolo Seema’s side gives them a bit of a headache.

“Arrows have a distinctive way of playing and it is synonymous with how they are known as Abafana Bes’thende. They play off the cuff and even if they try to have some organizational form, they still maintain the flair and the expressive abilities of their players and sometimes that’s where the difficulty comes in for us. How do you plan for instinctive football action?”