Maritzburg United’s Bongokuhle Hlongwane hasn’t allowed success to go to his head.
Hlongwane was instrumental for the Team of Choice in their 3-0 defeat of Stellenbosch FC in an Absa Premiership match at Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday.
He scored a brace while Tebogo Tlolane got the other goal. Coach Eric Tinkler heaped praise on Hlongwane for his performance.
“We’ve got to remember where Sanisa (Hlongwane) was last season. He played mainly in MultiChoice Diski Challenge. Prior to him joining the Diski team, he was playing in the Castle (SAB league) team. He had some great performances for us last season and ended up signing a professional contract. I think, we’ve managed him very, very well. That’s important, we haven’t allowed the success to get to his head because that success sometimes comes too fast. I think, we’ve managed him well,” Tinkler said on Friday.
Hlongwane is in the provisional squad for the Olympic Games.
“He has known about the call up quite a while. But obviously, we are assessing him. We watch him at training. We watch how he performed against Celtic when he came on. He looked hungry. That’s why we started with him. We knew that they had some defensive weaknesses that he could exploit because of his speed, aggression and creativity. Not only did he score, he set up the other one because of his intelligence,” he added.
There’s no doubt that Hlongwane will be striving for consistency in the last seven league games.
“I’m very happy with him. But it is about him still growing. I think that’s important, “Tinkler explained.
Maritzburg are on a roll having registered three league victories on the trot.
“I thought we were outstanding. It was absolutely an outstanding performance from us all round. Defensively we were very good. Offensively very good.”