There is a quiet confidence about Bennet Mokoena that belies his age. Still a teenager, still learning, still growing — and yet, by almost any measure, this has been a season to remember.
Mokoena set himself targets at the start of the campaign and went after them with the single-mindedness of someone far older.
“My goals were to get promoted to the First Team and be an influential player and win the league with the team,” he reflected in the recent edition of the Mamelodi Sundowns magazine.
“We did not win the league, but we scored the most goals and I am proud of that. I reached most of the targets I set for myself.”
The league title may have eluded them, but the individual numbers tell their own story. Mokoena finished the season as the DStv Diski Challenge top goal scorer, netting 22 goals in 26 league matches — a return that put him within touching distance of the all-time DDC scoring record.
For a teenager playing reserve team football, it is a remarkable achievement, one that speaks to both his finishing instinct and his consistency across a long, demanding campaign.
‘The Game That Changed Everything’
No single match captured that instinct better than a stunning afternoon against Durban City. In a 5–2 demolition, Mokoena was simply unstoppable, helping himself to four goals in a performance that stopped people in their tracks; including First Team coach Miguel Cardoso.
“That game changed everything,” Mokoena says, the memory still vivid. “Scoring four goals and then getting a First Team call-up was unbelievable. It boosted my confidence and made me want to work even harder.”
“It felt surreal. My family was proud because they knew how much I wanted this. Being around experienced players helped me improve my intensity, my performance and even my mindset off the field.”
That last part matters. Because the easiest thing for a teenager riding a wave of momentum and headlines would be to lose perspective. Mokoena hasn’t. The hype is growing around him, but he is not chasing it.
“I just want to keep improving, keep learning and hopefully get more First Team minutes,” he says simply. “I want to enjoy football and keep growing.”
Mokoena finished the campaign in style after being on the end of a superb team move to score the 3-1 in Sundowns’ friendly match with RB Leipzig.