Michaelson Ntokozo Gumede

By Ntokozo Gumede

Journalist


Mngqithi reveals what’s hindering Domingo’s progress at Sundowns

"The players who have always been playing have done exceptionally well but he has been working extremely hard," said Mngqithi.


Haashim Domingo has had to face the reality of being reduced to a spectator at Mamelodi Sundowns as he has finds himself at a club where even the captain, Hlompho Kekana, is no longer a regular player.

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Domingo, who has played no fewer than 25 games in the last four seasons, was one of those many players picked up from the now defunct Bidvest Wits side as he, together with Ricardo Goss and Gift Motupa have found a home at Chloorkop but they have had limited involvement and that is because the team is doing well, says Mngqithi, as Masandawana are currently enjoying a 23-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

“It is very difficult to change a winning team. The players who have always been playing have done exceptionally well but he has been working extremely hard. What was not right in his game when he started is that he was playing with a lot of anxiety, he does not even want to commit one error and that sometimes makes it difficult when you are playing with that kind of stress,” said Mngqithi.

Domingo has made just seven appearances for Sundowns in the DStv Premiership and two in cup competitions and only two of those have been starts. Such stats would probably deflate a player’s appetite to play paired with a bit of demotivation, but Mngqithi says Domingo’s attitude is the total opposite.

“I like to work with a player like him, he gives his best at training and he focused, there is never any negativity in his game,” the Downs mentor said.

He adds: “He has improved because we have been playing him as a substitute and he comes in and stabilises the game but I still believe he is a far better player than what we are getting now and I believe we can still get more from him and make him to play with a lot of simplicity and composure in his game, and once he does that, he is one player who is very difficult to dispossess off the ball and he is technically very sound.”

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