Benni McCarthy has received praise for his performance since he took over at AmaZulu. The praise has come from none other than Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi, who feels that the former Ajax striker is doing very well.
Wednesday afternoon saw a clash between the Brazilians and Usuthu, in what was a top-of-the-table clash in Durban. Sundowns failed to get a win, settling for a share of the spoils, but that didn’t stop Mngqithi from gushing about McCarthy’s work.
“I must say Benni has done a lot of good work with this team, they are working very hard, they are closing us down in some moments where they could have punished us with some counter-pressing.”
While at it, he took the time to lament about the number of games being played recently as he believed, it was taking its toll on the squad.
“Ja, it was one of those matches, we never really looked very sharp, we hanged in there and tried to catch them in moments where they gave us openings,” Mngqithi said.
“I must also say we were playing against a very good team, we tried to push them as much as we could, second-half I think we should have had something there at the end, unfortunately three players, [Gift] Motupa, [Aubrey] Modiba and Peter in one chance but all of them could not make it count.
“But what was important for this match was that if you don’t win it don’t lose it. That was the most important thing, because if you’re playing against your competitors, make sure that you keep them where they are, we still have two games in hand against them and we still have a long way to go to see what we can get going forward.
“But I think it is also beginning to show we’ve played far too many matches in a short space of time, I think the last time they played, that’s where we were playing Belouizdad from Algeria, we’ve played three games more in that space and we’re coming to them at the back of those three games with extra-time, it’s beginning to show, it’s the truth.
McCarthy continues to get praise deservedly after going far beyond expectations with Amazulu this term. His exploits have already put him in the fray for the next Bafana Bafana manager role. Whether that happens or not, it’s only a matter of time before one of the big guns come circling around for his signature.