Cape Town City have regularly plundered opposition teams with stunning attacking play. Their speed off the mark, quick-thinking and awareness of space and opportunity have confounded defenders, and the pint-sized and pacy Aubrey Ngoma has been at the heart of it all for the Cape side.
On Saturday, when City take on SuperSport United in the Telkom Knockout final at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane (6pm kickoff), Ngoma will again have an influential role to play if the Cape outfit are to emerge
victorious.
There is a rabid desire to achieve and a ravenous hunger to succeed in this City squad. Club boss John Comitis attributes it to the fact that so many of the players have been discarded by other clubs.
As such, they are on a mission to prove themselves; to demonstrate - unequivocally - that their talent and ability are not in question.
Ngoma is from Hammanskraal, a township north of Pretoria, and it was at the University of Pretoria where he came to prominence, playing a major part in the squad that won promotion to the PSL in 2012.
In the top-flight, he made an immediate impression, and who can forget the sensational four goals he scored in a 5-1 thrashing of Ajax Cape Town? His exploits at Tuks alerted the “big guns” and he was soon off to Orlando Pirates. Yet there was where his career stalled.
But last season at Mpumalanga Black Aces, he was revived by coach Muhsin Ertugral. And when the club was relocated to the Mother City, he continued in the same vein, blossoming even more because of the belief and confidence City coach Eric Tinkler has brought to the squad.
“I’m obviously very happy with the form of the team,” said Ngoma. “It’s good winning games and we should now just keep working harder. I think our success is because we work as a unit, it’s our efforts as a team, not as individuals, that make us win.
“In games, there’s an understanding among the players - we know where we need to be, and we know where the others are going to be.
“Most importantly, it’s the work of the defence and the midfield that allows players like me to have the freedom to go forward.”
In SuperSport, Ngoma is aware of that City are up against a difficult opponent. The Pretoria side has a high-quality squad and, in Stuart Baxter, a wily coach.
But the sprightly 27-year-old winger is nevertheless confident that City will put up a good showing.
“SuperSport are no different from any other team, they have their strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “But we just have to make sure that we prepare well. “We cannot focus too much on our previous games and wins, we just have to concern ourselves with the cup final. As players, we all have ambitions, and I can assure that this is one we would like to win. The one thing the coach (Tinkler) always tells us is to play with no fear. We go out and play with freedom and enjoyment, and aren’t scared of any team. We try to get results, regardless of who we play.”
City are on a nine-game winning run (eight wins and a draw). Does that place extra strain and stress on the players? Not so, reckons Ngoma.
“There is no pressure,” he said. “We approach every game the same way and SuperSport will be no different.
“We’ll give it our all. As we always do, you’ll get 120 percent from the squad and if that’s not enough, then at least we will still come off the field with our heads held high and say that we tried our best. That’s how we’ve done it whole season. “But if we pitch up, if we play to form, then the good qualities in the squad will definitely take the team to victory.”