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Pelembe Becomes 2nd Oldest Player To Score In The PSL

Veteran winger Elias Pelembe has become the second oldest player in the Premier Soccer League to have scored a goal.

Pelembe, 39, tucked home the equaliser when Royal AM won 3-1 against Stellenbosch FC at Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday, to etch his name in the history books.

Siyabonga Nomvethe, the all-time record goal scorer in the PSL with 123 goals, is the oldest player to have scored a goal in the top flight at the age of 41 when he was with AmaZulu.    

It came against Highlands Park at Makhulong Stadium on 27 November 2018 when coach Cavin Johnson was in charge of the Durban club.

Royal AM had to react after Stellies number 10 Junior Mendieta dumbfounded the home side’s defence in the early stages of the game.

But that stung Royal AM into life, with Pelembe starting the comeback before Mthokozisi Dube and Shaun Mogaila both scored to see coach Maduka remain unbeaten at home since he returned to the club in February.    

“I think to have gone so long, it is the passion for the game,” he replied to iDiski Times when asked what has kept him this long going.

“And the love I have for football. I know for me to keep on going I need to keep in shape, I need to take care of my diet, and rest so much.

“So I think that has helped me to keep on going. The most important thing for me is the passion, the desire to want to win and that is it. There is no secret.”

The 39-year-old is one of the most successful foreign players in the PSL, having won the league four times – twice with SuperSport United, and once with Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits, respectively. He also won one Nedbank Cup, TKO, and MTN8.

He was named the PSL Player of the Season in 2007/08 season, in what was his first season in the PSL. Pelembe was then considered to be SuperSport’s most influential player when they won the 2007/08 league title, having arrived from Desportivo Maputo.

Coach Gavin Hunt, to this day, considered Pelembe one of the greatest players he has ever coached. True to that statement, Pelembe won the league three times with Hunt and two other knockout trophies.          

“I think so,” said Pelembe when asked, if Hunt shaped him to be like this.

“I can say that because Gavin, when I was at SuperSport, said I must always be consistent. I can’t play one game and the next game it’s not the same, I should maintain. I have been doing that and right now I’m trying to take it to another level.

“I know not all the time you will play so well, but at least I keep the consistency from between zero to 10. So I have that mentality.” 

Robin-Duke Madlala
Robin-Duke Madlala
Robin-Duke Madlala is iDiski Times' former KwaZulu-Natal-based web journalist. Boasting extensive experience in the South African football landscape, Robin-Duke has previously worked for Kick-Off Magazine, Soccer Laduma, and Daily Sun and Sunday Sun. He specialises in breaking news and transfers around South Africa’s big clubs in KZN. Robin-Duke has left iDiski Times.
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