Chippa United head coach Kwanele Kopo has explained why they hauled off Ayabulela Konqobe in the first half which clearly riled up the talented midfielder.
Konqobe, 28, has been lauded as one of the most technically gifted players in the country since bursting onto the scene as a teenager at Ajax Cape Town.
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He captained the national U20 side and was part of Shakes Mashaba’s Bafana Bafana set-up alongside the likes of Rivaldo Coetzee a decade ago.
However, his career never quite reached the heights expected as a talented centre-back, with stints at SuperSport United, AmaZulu, Thanda Royal Zulu and even a stint in Europe at Ekenäs IF where he thrived as an attacking midfielder before returning to Chippa United.
He’s been an ever-present figure for the Chilli Boys under Kopo this season but was hauled off 35 minutes whilst the game was 0-0 against Kaizer Chiefs for Tanzania international midfielder Baraka Majogoro and he showed his displeasure by walking straight into the dressing room.
“We felt that he was not applying himself in the game tactically, the way that we wanted, he hardly touched the ball, he was not really in the right spaces when we were in possession and he struggled to help us press Mthethwa and Maart,” Kopo said after the game.
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“So, that was the reason, it’s not a nice thing to do. But for us to try and grab the game, we had to do it, and I felt when Baraka came in there was a bit more stability in the midfield.”
Chippa end 2024 in ninth place in the league with 14 points from their opening 11 games of the season.
