Lekgwathi – You can’t bench Themba Zwane

Orlando Pirates legend Lucky Lekgwathi believes starting Themba Zwane on the bench in the first leg of the MTN8 semifnal against Stellenbosch FC backfired. Mamelodi Sundowns looked better when Zwane came on towards the latter stages of the game but Stellies ran out 1-0 winners.

Zwane was reinstated back into the starting 11 for the second leg but Stellenbosch still got the better of the Brazilians with another narrow 1-0 victory, to take the two-legged tie 2-0 on aggregate to advance to the final.

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Lekgwathi, who is one of the ambassadors for the lucrative MTN8 competition, has questioned the wisdom of the decision to use Zwane as an impact player at Lucas Moripe Stadium where the team lacked ideas in the final third.

“Coaches want to come with their own style but you can’t put Themba Zwane on the bench. He’s an international and he plays for Bafana Bafana. Last season he played a big role in Sundowns winning the league, he’s a senior player and he can make things happen even at his age,” Lekgwathi said on Radio 2000.

“I think for them, they are judging someone by his age or they didn’t want to continue with Rulani’s (Mokwena) team and they didn’t want Rulani to get the credit. They wanted to play with their own players and that’s why they even put Themba Zwane on the bench. I follow Mamelodi Sundowns and yes, I’m a Buccaneer but I follow them.

“When Rulani took over from Pitso (Mosimane), what happened is that Hlompho Kekana retired and Hlompho was still good.  It’s the same with Themba, he hasn’t retired but they put him on the bench. You can’t put Mshishi on the bench especially in such competitions. It’s a big risk and It’s like us (Pirates) playing this tournament but you put (Monnapule) Saleng on the bench. No, you know Saleng is the lucky charm of the MTN8 and he won us the MTN8 back-to-back.”

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Lekgwathi captained the Buccaneers to back-to-back MTN8 titles in 2010 and 2011. He has tipped his former team to get the better of Stellenbosch and pick up their third top eight competition in a row.