Orlando Pirates midfielder Makhehlene Makhaula has expressed confidence in his teammate Patrick Maswanganyi's ability to recover after missing a crucial penalty during their 1-0 loss to Cape Town City on Wednesday.
Maswanganyi's missed penalty in the 70th minute proved costly as Cape Town City capitalised just four minutes later, with Darwin Gonzalez scoring the match-winning goal.
After the match, the playmaker broke down in tears, prompting several teammates to gather around and console him. The loss saw the Buccaneers remain second on the log table with 27 points from 11 matches.
However, despite Maswanganyi' emotional state after the match, Makhaula has backed the playmaker to bounce back, insisting that anyone can miss a penalty.
๐๐๐ค๐ก๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐: ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐จ, ๐๐๐ฅ๐ & ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ดโโ ๏ธ
Orlando Piratesโ midfielder Makhehlene Makhaula says when players like Tito, Rele & Mbatha are crying, they HAVE to Support them. ๐ดโโ ๏ธ#OrlandoPirates #Tito #NedbankCup pic.twitter.com/jkOBSykLqg
"Tito is always emotional when he is playing, he is someone with, his heart... is not like me who's going to miss and then quickly get over it. He is still young but all I can say is that he is okay.
"I think we're going to see if he's going to start. We're going to see a different Tito, who has forgotten about what happened. A penalty is a penalty and anyone can miss a penalty," Makhaula said in an interview with iDiski Times.
The hard-tackling midfielder also shared his thoughts on the Buccaneers' prospects of defending their Nedbank Cup title, expressing his hope to secure a third consecutive victory.
The Sea Robbers were drawn against KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit Richards Bay FC in Thursday's Nebank Cup last 32 draw.
"It's going to be nice history for me and the club to win it three times in a row, but I think the fixture will tell us where we want to be in this Nedbank Cup, so if we beat Richards Bay then it's all up on us as the players"
IOL Sport