Chippa benefit as mature Rakhale drops circus act

Since joining Chippa United from Orlando Pirates last December, tricky winger and fan-favourite Thabo Rakhale has shown glimpses of maturity, utilising his skill more for going forward than just showboating.

At Chippa, Rakhale has linked-up well with another ex-Pirates midfielder in

Mark Mayambela. The well-known showboating pair has since formed a promising partnership at the Eastern Cape outfit.

Mayambela believes their blossoming partnership will soon yield positive results for seventh-placed Chippa. They thumped Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 at the weekend when Rakhale scored his first goal since his arrival, ensuring they completed a double over Amakhosi after beating them 1-0 in the first round.

"Rakhale is a good player. We always talk about how we can use our skills to help the team get goals. We spend a lot of time together, learning from one another. This is just a start. We want to have one of the deadliest combinations in the league," Mayambela said.

"Our main goal is to make the team play. We want to make the team tick. The things [tricks] we do most of SA players cannot do, so we must be careful that the team benefit from our play."

Mayambela, who has scored two goals in 17 games and assisted once thus far, acknowledges that football has evolved and there's little room for showboating but feels fans pay their money to be entertained.

"Even though the game has evolved, we must not forget to entertain the people who pay their money to come and see us. Football is first about winning," said the Cape Town lad.

Chippa's ambition is to finish in the top eight and next face relegation-threatened Ajax Cape Town on Sunday.

Mayambela said: "We want to win all our remaining matches. We are putting in our full energy but we do not want to put ourselves under pressure. It is one game at a time."