Former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Benedict ‘Tso’ Vilakazi has explained why Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams deserves to be Player of the Season award ahead of Patrick Maswanganyi.
Williams has been outstanding for Sundowns this season conceding just six goals, keeping 15 clean sheets in the league and helping the club defend their title with a handful of matches still to play.
The former SuperSport United man has also been dubbed the ‘king of penalties’ this season after saving multiple spot-kicks for club and country, including this past weekend against Stellenbosch when he denied Iqraam Rayners from the spot.
Vilakazi says his top three includes Williams’ teammate Teboho Mokoena and Maswanganyi, though he believes Tito peaked a little late to make a strong case for the award.
“He [Williams] has shown in our league, you check how many goals he has conceded, you check how many saves he has made for the team,” said Tso on iDiski TV.
“Look at where the team is. He is my Player of the Season.
“If Mokoena didn’t get injured I think he also did very well. And then the other player who it was just a matter of time for him, though his peak time worked against him, Tito. But no doubt he did very well.
“He [Maswanganyi] is the only player that I can really say he was there in the thick of things and we can analyse him and his contribution to his team.
“But when we do that and compare it with Ronwen, for me I don’t see any player that comes to that level. There were some goals that were created by him as a keeper, I mean starting the ball from the back with a pass that would go on to be an assist.
“Yes Ronwen did his job but when you compare him to other keepers and compare with other [outfield] players they are more or less average for me. Only Tito stood out but like I said he just peaked almost at the right time.”
You can listen to Tso’s full comments on why Williams deserves the accolade on iDiski TV official YouTube channel.
