Mohafe Defends “Old” Peter Mokaba Choice

Polokwane City coach Phuti Mohafe stood firm on his decision to host Kaizer Chiefs at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium following their goalless Betway Premiership draw on Saturday.

Rise and Shine opted to host the match at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, despite having previously used the New Peter Mokaba Stadium. The decision proved beneficial, as they secured a draw.

Mohafe insisted that visiting teams must be prepared to play on the surface, regardless of its condition or appearance.

“This is our home ground, so where else should we play? We deserve to play here because other teams take us to their home grounds,” said Mohafe.
“Regardless of how the pitch looks, this is our pitch and we love it.

“Everyone must come here and play us on our ground. I may sound aggressive, but they must come to our field and face us here.

“We deserve to play here, not anywhere else. When we play away, we compete on their fields, so why not? Let us continue playing at Old Peter Mokaba — it suits us, and we perform well here.”

Mohafe also questioned why Lebohang Maboe was awarded Man of the Match, arguing that he had little impact on the game.

“If we had delivered early crosses, we might have scored, but we took one touch too many. That’s something we can work on and improve,” he said.

“I sincerely thank the players for executing the game plan. We aimed to exploit the spaces they left, knowing that Thabiso Monyane would overlap and Bradley Cross would move inside as an inverted full-back to form a back three.

“We used those spaces well, defended strongly, and kept a clean sheet. In midfield, we neutralised them — we neutralised Maboe and Cele.

“I’m confused as to how Maboe was named Man of the Match. He was hardly visible. Whenever he had the ball, we were there.

“We won most of the duels against him, so how can you be Man of the Match when you keep losing possession?”