Richards Bay goalkeeper Salim Magoola’s starting place appears to be in danger at the club as Philasande Manqele starred yet again when they beat Orlando Pirates in the Carling Knockout Cup quarter-final to reach the final four.
Manqele, 20, saved Deon Hotto’s first Bucs penalty, stretching to his right to produce a stunning save to see Kaitano Tembo’s side win 5-4 in the penalty shootout after the game ended goalless in the 120 minutes played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Despite his heroics, Manqele lost out to Thembinkosi Lorch in the Man of the Match voting on the day, with the Pirates winger getting his second successive R100,000.
But it was another outstanding showing by Manqele, who was appearing for the second time in this competition after he featured in the first-round win over Moroka Swallows last month.
“I think he is a work in progress,” said Tembo of Manqele, who will be excused this week as he is writing high school exams.
“He was very disciplined. I like his humility, I like his work ethic. He’s a boy who goes to church, the Shembe church, he is very level-headed. I think he is one player you want to give that opportunity to, you want to throw him in there because you can see he deserves it.
“I love the way he organised his defence. If I look back at our last game [we lost 3-1] against Cape Town City where we conceded goals [when Magoola was playing], I feel we shouldn’t have conceded.
“We were playing so well and all of a sudden, 15 minutes you are already 3-0 down. But on Saturday we were under so much pressure, but he kept his calm, he dealt with situations very well, his anticipation was brilliant.
“You could see the confidence the guys have in front of him and for me that was big, that was huge.”
Tembo, who previously foresaw that Manqele reminded him on Ronwen Williams when he was young at SuperSport United, says this win has come as a breather as they are battling to survive in the relegation and worse now that Cape Town Spurs finally won for the first time after they beat the very same Pirates midweek.
“This cup game gives us a breather in terms of confidence, because on Tuesday we are playing [away at Stellenbosch FC],” said Tembo, who won this cup in 2014/15 season.
“So this result we have to leave it in the dressing room because we have a very tough match against Stellenbosch and travelling doesn’t also help us.
“Let’s hope they recover as quickly as possible because we have two important games also against Cape Town Spurs [at home].”
