I was playing for my dead baby, says Cosmos star
Thato Lingwati led Jomo Cosmos on Wednesday, just five days after his baby daughter died, as they drew 0-0 at Platinum Stars to keep alive hopes of promotion to the South African Premiership.
Thato Lingwati of Jomo Cosmos F.C. during the National First Division match between Milano United AFC and Jomo Cosmos at Parow Park on September 17, 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Luke Walker/Gallo Images)
At the halfway stage of a double-round promotion/relegation series, Black Leopards have four points, fellow second division side Cosmos two and top-flight outfit Platinum one.
Each club meets the other two again between May 26 and June 2 and the side topping the final standings will compete for riches unrivalled in African football during the 2018/2019 season.
Lingwati led by example in the closing stages at a stadium in northwestern village Moruleng as hosts Platinum laid siege in search of a match-winning goal.
“I was playing for her,” said the 25-year-old centre-back, battling to hold back tears as he referred to the death of his one-month-old daughter last Friday.
“She meant the world to me and now she is gone. It is not easy, but I know my little angel would have wanted me to carry on playing for Cosmos.
“The emotional pain is enormous after my loss, but I am going to soldier on for her sake and that of my team-mates and the coach.”
Cosmos coach/owner Jomo Sono, 62, was a South African football great, deprived of playing for his country during the 1970s and 1980s because of apartheid-induced international isolation.
Instead, he and several other South African stars joined American clubs with Sono naming his team after New York Cosmos, one of the sides he played for.
“We should have wrapped this match up in the first half, but if you do not take your chances you cannot win,” he said, lamenting a problem that afflicts many South African clubs.
But despite trailing Leopards by two points, Sono is confident his side can win away to the club based in northeastern South Africa and secure promotion.
Premiership clubs fight for 29 million rand (about $2.350 million/1.990 mn euros) annually in league and cup first prizes and receive a monthly 1.5 mn rand grant.
The teams finishing second and third in the play-offs compete in the far less financially attractive second division next season.
