Molefi Ntseki, coach of Kaizer Chiefs, believes Mduduzi Mdantsane might be the missing connection between midfield and defence that Amakhosi have been looking for all the while.
In a hard-fought 2-1 MTN8 quarterfinal win over Cape Town City at Athlone Stadium on Sunday, playmaker Mdantsane was among a slew of players who impressed and demonstrated that the Chiefs may have their strongest depth in many seasons in 2023-24.
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The 28-year-old, who was signed from City in the off-season, had played 19 minutes as a substitute in Chiefs’ first match of the season, a dull 0-0 DStv Premiership draw at home to Chippa United, before failing to appear in their 2-1 away league defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Ntseki was asked if Mdantsane was being held back in the MTN8 to face his old squad.
According to the coach, the player with vision and an eye for a pass was deemed the best tactical fit for Amakhosi’s game plan to make his maiden Chiefs start against the Citizens.
Ntseki said, “We are a professional team and a team of professionals in our technical team and always give respect to our opponents and our players.”
“By the way we brought Mdu Mdantsane to the club because of his qualities and we believe he is the missing link we need to have in the club.
“I think he has done very well since he came in. We did not play him last week because we wanted him to have the hunger coming into this game.
“In terms of our game plan he was that player we needed to start with and I think he had a good game in terms of his overall performance.
“We did our analysis [of City] and came up with a good plan and good preparation and that is why Mdu Mdantsane and the rest of the guys had a good game.”
The Chiefs’ victory over City was highlighted by Edson Castillo’s steely display in central midfield and winning goal.
The Venezuelan’s midfield muscle, tactical awareness, and distribution may add a lot to a club that is under pressure to win a trophy after going eight years without one under their new head coach.
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Mdantsane has shown that he can provide a key link between midfield and attack which is something that has been missing in the squad.
The Chiefs return to league action on Sunday, 3 pm as they travel to Mbombela Stadium to face TS Galaxy.
