Ndlovu's rise gives Maritzburg hope

The only way to stop midfielder Siphesihle Ndlovu from doing his thing on the field is kicking him.

Ndlovu, 21, has shown great potential so much that his coach Fadlu Davids has in the past few weeks raised concerns over the opponents resorting to kicking his prized asset.

"I'm really worried about him that he gets kicked in every game six or seven times - really brutal," Davids lamented.

"I hope the referees can protect him."

Ndlovu probably didn't matter to the opponents earlier in the season, but he's grown in leaps and bounds. He was the first ever Maritzburg United player to receive the player of the month accolade when he did so for the month of January.

He was also in the news again when he made the Bafana Bafana squad that played at the four-nations tournament in Zambia last month.

And with the big teams apparently after him, the Team of Choice moved quickly to tie him down to a contract until June 2022.

He's one of the players who are thought to have done enough to challenge Percy Tau of Mamelodi Sundowns for the PSL player of the season award, and he is a clear favourite in the young player of the season category.

"Okay, now I can start dreaming [about the main award], but from the start of the season I wasn't there," said Ndlovu, who hails from Ashdown township outside Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.

The main focus, however, is ensuring Maritzburg can finish strongly in third place on the log, and make the finals of the Nedbank Cup.

The Team of Choice face Mamelodi Sundowns in the last four at Harry Gwala Stadium on Sunday [3pm].