SuperSport United defender Kegan Johannes is thrilled with the start to his career at the Tshwane club.
Johannes joined SuperSport last year, having previously turned out for Ajax Cape Town, and for Cape Town Spurs after Ajax were re-branded.
Johannes is also a junior international, and was the youngest member of the national under-23 side at the CAF u23 Cup of Nations, and helped qualify the team for last year’s Tokyo Olympics.
The 20-year-old picked up back-to-back man of the matches in his last two games, against Sekhukhune United and Cape Town City. Against City he also scored an own goal, but redeemed himself moments later by scoring the winner in a 3-2 victory.
Speaking exclusively to iDiski Times‘ Rob Delport, Johannes spoke about that game, and what a relief it was to make up for the own goal immediately.
“Yeah look, I think there isn’t a better way I could’ve finished off the year with back-to-back MOTM awards,” Johannes told iDiski Times.
“I can only give thanks to the Man above for that, and obviously to the team that helped me obtain these awards because it wasn’t just me it was us as a collective.
Yeah look, the last game of 2021 was a rollercoaster, especially for me! I mean it’s not every day you get a player scoring an own goal then moments later redeem himself in the fashion in which I did, but obviously the own goal I think is a footballer’s worst enemy, but in the aspect of the game I couldn’t allow it to get to my head.
“I’ve always been taught to move onto the next and the next because the more you ponder on that moment the more it’ll eat at you, but all I could do is pick myself back up and continue with the job, and luckily for me at the end of the day I got rewarded.
“And that was such a relief for me, because I don’t think I would’ve been able to sleep if the match had ended in a draw, or even worse a loss, but like I said we got the three points and went into the break smiling.”
Johannes was thrown into the mix almost immediately after signing for the club, and in November and December he played seven games for the team.
“Obviously, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster for me at the start, not having played in a while,” he said.
“And for me to just go back in and start, you know, it was a bit of a roller coaster, because obviously now with prep and match fitness and things like that, I had to actually speed that up and be ready.
“Because obviously the occasion called for me to be ready, and that’s what I had to do.”
“You know, I think my last matches were in May, and to be honest, when I came back, obviously, now, this is a bigger stage, it’s the highest level in South Africa, if not in Africa.
“And obviously, it’s been an adjustment for me. And obviously, there were nerves, because now it’s a new environment, new things, new systems, things like that.
“And to fit into that, obviously there were a bit of nerves but you know once the first whistle goes, everything else disappears. It’s just me and the ball.
“And obviously it was special to be back on the field again to do what I love.”
SuperSport travel to Harry Gwala Stadium to face Maritzburg United this evening in their Nedbank Cup round of 32 game, before facing the same opponents at the same venue six days later in the DStv Premiership. Johannes will unfortunately miss out on the cup game through injury.
Story by Rob Delport (@FMSouthAfrica)
