Sibusiso Masina made a huge impact during Cape Town City’s Telkom Knockout Cup triumph last year, scoring some vital late goals in the competition. Through his enthusiastic, energetic performances, the 27-year-old has now carved out a place as a regular in the team.
City are in Polokwane on Sunday afternoon to take on basement club Baroka FC at the Peter Mokaba Stadium (kick-off 3.30pm) - and Masina is keen to continue his good form. He knows it won’t be easy, though. Baroka come off a 5-0 hiding by log leaders Wits on Wednesday - and they’ll be desperate to make amends at home this weekend.
“Going to Baroka will be tough,” he said. “They are fighting to get away from the relegation zone and we fighting to stay among the top teams. It will be a difficult game, but we are prepared to fight to ensure that we come back with maximum points.”
Masina started his junior career playing for Daveyton Swallows in the Gauteng township he’s from. By the age of 16, he was playing in the Second Division for Sunshine United in the North West Province. It was then on Vardos FC, Roses United and United FC as he continued to seek a passage to get him to the PSL.
But it was after a move to First Division FC Cape Town in the Mother City that he really came to prominence and his performances eventually led to him landing a contract with PSL club Mpumalanga Black Aces, coached at the time by Muhsin Ertugral.
When Black Aces morphed into City in June last year, Masina had no hesitation in coming down to the Mother City again. He had experience of playing in the Cape and he had fond memories of the place.
“I was happy to move to Cape Town because I stayed here before,” said Masina. “It is a nice city.”
The new Cape PSL club has, of course, done exceptionally well this season. They’ve surprised all and sundry and won over quite a few people with the dash and dare of their football.
“I think the team is doing well because of the good working relationship we have with a great coach (Eric Tinkler),” said Masina. “He played this game, he was once a great player and a fighter - he wants to win. He knows what to say to his players to get positive results, and we have lot of quality and hunger in our team.
“I am very happy with my contribution to the team. I think every player knows that, when you play well as an individual, then it helps the team to win.”