The Mark Of A True Champion: Willard Katsande Fury At Teammate Despite 4-0 Win
Siyabonga Ngezana making his first start of the season for Kaizer Chiefs after helping Amagluglug at the African U-23 Championships in Egypt headed home a corner kick from Lebogang Manyama in the 10th minute to open the scoring for high flying Amakhosi in a league match against debutants Stellenbosch at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday evening.
But what happened in the aftermath of that goal is what baffled many, it was jaw dropping stuff, Ngezana got more that what he had bargained for.
The young inexperienced defender took off his shirt in celebration as he posed for the cameras to celebrate his first goal in more than a year which warranted a yellow card. Maybe it was the euphoria of helping the Under-23s qualify for the Olympics that was still ringing a bell in his ears but if he had known what he was in for he would not have dared take off his shirt.
Captain on the day, Willard Katsande grabbed the young defender by the collar in anger asking him why he took off his shirt and get an unnecessary yellow card with more than 80 minutes of the match still to play for.
The Chiefs senior citizen, Katsande is mature enough to know all too well that the league is a marathon and yellow cards might have a huge bearing on squad depth if players are to be suspended as what happened to him and defender Eric Matoho in the Telkom Knockout semi-final against Maritzburg United last sunday where their double suspension and Billiat injury had a huge bearing on the whole Chiefs team who gave a lifeless performance in a game they were supposed to be humiliated by the Pietermaritzburg side by a very huge margin.
That is definitely the mark of a champion and determination from the Zimbabwean international midfielder who is mature enough to know how the Amakhosi faithfuls are groping in pain at the trophy drought in the last 5 years and this season Chiefs’ seem well on course to break their Houdini, they do not want to be affected by unnecessary costly decisions such as a suspension that might give title rivals a chance to pip them to the Championship.
Fellow senior player, Bernard Parker also reprimanded the young centre-back and appeared to ask him why he was doing something that he knew he would get a booking for.
Chiefs went on to win the match 4-0 to regain their 10-point cushion lead at the top of the table after their seventh successive league victory.Â
Kaizer Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp who is known as a strict disciplinarian however laughed off the incident on defender Siyabonga Ngezana getting himself booked for taking his shirt off in celebration as most coaches usually become irritated when players earn unnecessary bookings.
“But a player in this excitement‚ in this enjoyment – I was wondering why he did not take his undershirt off too. Let him enjoy it.”
OK‚ he got his first yellow card for it. But‚ OK‚ he knows it’s not a new rule for him. We will have a short chat about it. But not in a way that I will make a big thing about it‚ no.” said Middendorp taking it in the context of the player returning from the high of the South Africa Under-23s’ heroic penalties victory against Ghana in Cairo on Friday night to reach the 2020 Tokyo Olympics‚ and putting in a storming performance for his club.
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By Gerald Dandah
