DURBAN – Bongi Ntuli’s agent Mandla Mthembu is still puzzled as to how his player was left out of the Bafana Bafana squad that was due to face Sao Tome and Principe in two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Ntuli has been in a rich vein of form for AmaZulu and has scored 12 goals in 24 PSL matches to be in second place behind Orlando Pirates’ Gabadinho Mhango (14) in the race for the Golden Boot award.
“I can talk about something that interests Bongi and what he was working towards. His goal was to earn the Bafana Bafana call-up. Looking at his performances I believe, in my humble opinion, he deserves it,” Mthembu said.
Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki instead opted to go with a strikeforce comprising of Bradley Grobler, Thabiso Kutumela and Lebo Mothiba. Grobler is tied with Ntuli on 12 goals, while Kutumela scored five goals for Maritzburg United this season.
It is the inclusion of those other players that has Mthembu puzzled.
“He (Ntuli) is the best performing striker in the country, there’s no two ways about it. He should have been called up. Why that did not happen, I don’t know,” Mthembu explained.
Ntuli has been influential for Usuthu who would have been a sure bet for relegation were it not for his goals.
“How has he handled his disappointment? We can’t tell at the moment because there are no matches. When the league does resume, we’ll have a better idea as to how he handled this disappointment,” Mthembu said.
Ntuli still has six games to go to add to his goal tally, if league action resumes.
“The best response for him will be to go onto the field of play and continue to perform the way he has been performing. If possible, he must do even better,” Mthembu said.
Ntuli has been linked with a move to Orlando Pirates, but Mthembu brushed aside those rumours.
“You’ll never know about opportunities in football. When they come, they come very fast. If they come, we will have to make a decision at that particular time. For now, he is focused on AmaZulu. But all I can talk about at this stage is our plan for this season.
For him, it is to challenge for the top goalscorer award and get into the national team,” Mthembu said.