Petrus aims to follow in Shalulile, Hotto's footsteps

Midfielder happy to face Pirates in cup semis

Sihle Ndebele Journalist
Aprocius Petrus of Cape Town City
Aprocius Petrus of Cape Town City
Image: Shaun Roy

Utility Cape Town City defensive midfielder Aprocius Petrus is eager to write his own story in the PSL as he's motivated by his Namibian compatriots Peter Shalulile and Deon Hotto, who are now household names in SA.

Petrus and Hotto will come up against each other when City host Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the MTN8 semifinals at Cape Town Stadium tonight (7pm). Petrus joined the Citizens from KF Liria of Kosovo in March.

“I also want to write my own story. It's a motivation for me to do what they [Shalulile and Hotto] are doing. Their successes motivate me to level up and write my own story,'' Petrus said.

The City central midfielder, who can also play at left-back, also weighed in on the subject large contingent of Namibians in the PSL, saying the proximity between the two countries plays a role in more Namibian players coming here, also crediting Mamelodi Sundowns' Shalulile and Hotto for being the pioneers. 

“For us, I think we get the opportunity to play here because it's closer. The players that are coming from Namibia like the Shaluliles and the Hottos, they've been here first and I think the scouts first thing they do is go to Namibia and look for talent because there's a lot of talent there,'' Petrus narrated.

AmaZulu's Riaan Hanamub, Lloyd Kazapua of Sekhukhune United and Petrus' City teammate Prins Tjiueza among others are the notable Namibians in the PSL. Petrus says the presence of Tjiueza at City has helped him to be convivial and vice versa.

I feel much more comfortable now having one of my hometown teammates here.
Aprocius Petrus - Cape Town City

“I feel much more comfortable now having one of my hometown teammates here around me and for him also, coming into this squad and finding me made him more comfortable,'' Petrus noted.

On facing Pirates, Petrus insisted they were naturally bumped up. “We don't need any motivation, we are playing one of the best teams in SA, so yeah it's a good test for us... we are ready to go,'' the City man said.

The second leg is at Orlando Stadium on Saturday (3pm).

SowetanLIVE


Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.