Chippa United coach Kwanele Kopo has revealed why influential midfielder Andile Jali didn’t play in their Betway Premiership game against Sekhukhune United.
Jali picked a hamstring injury in Chippa’s 2-1 loss to Orlando Pirates in the opening game of the season and had to be substituted after scoring a beauty in that game.
The former Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns man’ travelled to Polokwane but was only in the stands when his side held Sekhukhune to a 1-1 draw with 10 men at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in midweek.
Kopo says Jali’s influence has been great for the side on and off the pitch as he has become the coaches’ extra eyes, adding the former South African international hadn’t fully recovered from his hamstring niggle.
“I think if you looked Andile was standing right by the tunnel behind the bench when we came in at halftime,” Kopo replied to iDiski Times when asked about Jali.
“He was the first one to give us the clips of what’s happening on the pitch. So I always say when Andile is playing, he’s the coach we have on the field. Today he was not playing. He became the extra eye from the stands.
“So he’s very, very influential in the team. Very experienced player knows exactly these kinds of situations when you’re one man down, how do you close the game. So his influence has been positive, both on and off the field.
“Yes, it was a cautious decision not to play him today. It was really more a cautious decision than him not being available at all, because we did not want to lose Andile for the home game.
“You know, we’ve taken a position that we really want to try and win all our home games, and we must be at full strength to do that. So we took a cautious decision.
“He’s been struggling a little bit with his hamstring, and Andile is not young, you know, if that hamstring snaps, it’s going to take him very long to come back. So he’s still not 100% also in terms of fitness, but we appreciate his contribution.”
