Zwane Defends Ngwenya After Costly Misses
AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane says he will not be overly critical of Thando Ngwenya despite the striker missing two golden chances in his last two matches, insisting the forward is still young and adjusting to a different league.
Ngwenya should have put Usuthu ahead against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday after being picked out by Rian Hanamub, but he fired straight at Ronwen Williams.
Usuthu were made to pay for that miss when Marcelo Allende scored the winner in the 84th minute, condemning AmaZulu to their second home defeat of the season at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Ngwenya, who joined Usuthu during the off-season, also squandered a big opportunity last Friday against Richards Bay in the Nedbank Cup round of 16 at Umhlathuze Sports Complex.
Once again, Hanamub provided the pass, and with goalkeeper Ian Otieno caught shifting across his line, Ngwenya dragged his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.
Zwane emphasised that patience is key as Ngwenya continues to develop.
“Thando is a hardworking player,” said Zwane.
“To be quite honest, he has done fairly well, and I don’t want us to put him under pressure. He has already scored six league goals.
“He’s only 23 years old. Yes, some 23-year-olds learn fast, grow fast and mature quickly. But he leads our attack because of his pace. He is very dynamic.
“Some of the mistakes he makes are part of the learning process. For example, in the first half we had a break, and he ran to the far post when he should have attacked the near post. The goalkeeper ended up saving it.
“If he had gone to the near post, he could have tapped it in because he was forcing the keeper to commit. Goalkeepers rarely cover the near post in that situation.
“We saw the same situation against TS Galaxy when he scored twice in January — he attacked the near post and scored. But in another instance, when Nkosi Radebe broke through, he went to the far post.
“Why? Because he is still learning. When you work mostly with youngsters, patience is very important.
“It is disappointing because, if you look at some of the points we have dropped, AmaZulu could easily have been number one on the table. People think I’m mad when I say that, but I mean it.
“We led 1-0 away to Sekhukhune and conceded in the dying minutes. The same happened against Magesi in stoppage time. It was similar against Kaizer Chiefs. Last year, we also lost to Polokwane City [at Princess Magogo Stadium]. That’s about nine points we could have had.
“But that’s football.”
AmaZulu, currently fifth on the table, are next in action against Stellenbosch F.C. at Danie Craven Stadium on Friday (19:30).
