SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt hopes to rekindle the potent combination of Lebohang Maboe and Siphesihle Ndlovu, reminiscent of their successful partnership at Maritzburg United.

SuperSport signed Maboe from Sundowns on a six-month loan during the January transfer window after the former Maritzburg star expressed his desire for more playing time.

During the 2017/18 season, Ndlovu, Maboe, and, to some extent, Fortune Makaringe, formed a formidable midfield trio that propelled Maritzburg to a fourth-place finish, their highest in the club’s history, under coach Fadlu Davids.

Ndlovu was named Midfielder of the Season, while Maboe earned the Nedbank Cup Player of the Season award and Nedbank Cup Most Promising Player.

That season saw the Team of Choice (since rebranded as Durban City) reach their maiden cup final—the Nedbank Cup—which they lost to Free State Stars.

They famously dismantled Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1 in the semi-final, with Maboe among the scorers. This victory left then-Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane visibly frustrated, leading to an angry discussion with the media and Maritzburg chairman Farouk Kadodia before his post-match press conference.

Ndlovu made 34 appearances that season, scoring five goals, while Maboe played even more, featuring in 37 matches and also scoring five times.

Maboe was then transferred to Sundowns ahead of the 2018/19 season, where he has since won six league titles. Ndlovu, two years younger, joined Orlando Pirates before the 2019/20 season.

When reminded of that impressive combination, Hunt chuckled and said, “That was obviously a different time and a long time ago. Yeah, I did speak to Ndlovu about him to find out about him. But Lebo only arrived on Thursday. We still need to find a way to fit him in. We just can’t put him in because he just arrived; he needs to play in the right position right now.”

Maboe made his SuperSport debut as a second-half substitute this past weekend in a 2-1 loss to AmaZulu in Durban.

However, Hunt will be without Maboe when they host Sundowns in the Betway Premiership Tshwane Derby match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday (19:30) due to a loan clause preventing him from playing against his parent club.