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Humiliated shibobo player told Sundowns’ Zwane: ‘I am going to get you’

Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Absa Premiership match between Polokwane City and Mamelodi Sundowns at Peter Mokaba Stadium on August 07, 2018 in Polokwane, South Africa.
Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Absa Premiership match between Polokwane City and Mamelodi Sundowns at Peter Mokaba Stadium on August 07, 2018 in Polokwane, South Africa.
Image: Philip Maeta/Gallo Images

Themba Zwane has expressed sympathy for Sibusiso Mbonani‚ who has become a subject of ridicule after the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder left the Polokwane City defender bamboozled with an outrageous shibobo on Tuesday night.

Downs cruised past City 2-0 to earn their first Absa Premiership win of 2018-19 at Peter Mokaba Stadium and Zwane was man-of-the-match.

At one stage the Bafana Bafana winger found himself with little space to manoeuvre down the left and executed a nutmeg (shibobo) on Mbonani‚ who fell embarrassingly on his head to the ground.

Video clips of the incident have gone viral on social media.

Asked about it on Wednesday morning‚ Zwane disclosed that Mbonani told him during the game that‚ “I am going to get you”‚ because the pair have had an ongoing personal duel‚ but that he did not plan to embarrass him.

“I did not mean to embarrass him but he came running at me at full speed and his brakes failed at a crucial moment.

“I had no choice but to do what I did because I wanted to create space for myself. After the game I went to him to say sorry‚ and he accepted my apology‚” Zwane said with a smile.

Though Downs’s on-form winger managed to pull the skill off‚ Zwane admitted that he was disappointed that his final pass did not reach teammate Lebohang Maboe‚ who was better positioned to pull the trigger inside the box.

“I was very disappointed that the final pass did not reach Lebo because it could have been a goal. I missed a good chance to score against Chiefs last weekend and this shows that my decision-making in the final third needs to improve‚” Zwane said.

“This is one of the things that I will be working on with the coaches during the season because I have a responsibility to score goals and help the team. At least my pass did not cost the team‚” he said‚ adding saying that his style of play will not change.

“This is the way I play and I will not change. Coach Pitso Mosimane has told me to do whatever I want as long as we are going forward and I am creating chances for myself or teammates.”

Downs and Zwane have only played two games in the league‚ but the skilful forward was impressive in the 1-1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs and then again in the win over City‚ and he said he wants to get even better.

“I want to be up there with the best at the end of the season and it means I must be consistent and work hard. I am feeling good about my body because I had a good pre-season and I must look after myself away from the pitch‚” he said.

“I must rest enough and be professional because we have too many games in the league. I must follow the programmes that the coaches give us because we don’t train too much because matches come at short intervals.”

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