Ayanda Patosi is keen to continue the quest to elevate his game and recapture the potential that made him one of the most promising talents a few years ago.
The Cape Town City attacking midfielder returned to the starting team in the 1-0 derby success over Ajax Cape Town last week, and he turned in a hard-working 90-minute effort.
The 25-year-old from Khayelitsha has been out injured for quite a while – but, based on his Cape derby display, it’s evident that he has the hunger back again.
Patosi was in the spotlight when he landed a transfer to Belgian club Lokeren in 2011. After making an initial impression, which saw him selected for Bafana Bafana, things went sour overseas.
He was lured back home by City last year, into the welcoming bosom of the Mother City, but he struggled to get going. Having not played for a while, his fitness levels weren’t up to standard, and coach Benni McCarthy’s approach was to bring him along slowly.
Patosi then got injured, to further complicate his progress. But the injury lay-off, the recovery period, and the festive season hiatus appear to have galvanised him – and he was quite good in the derby last week.
Today, when City take on Bloemfontein Celtic in a PSL fixture at the Dr Molemela Stadium (kick-off 3.30pm), the sprightly lad from Khayelitsha is determined to maintain his increased level of performance.
City, though, will have to do without McCarthy’s charismatic presence on the bench. The coach was sent off during a volatile Cape derby last week and will watch the Celtic match from the stands.
Assistant-coach Vasili Manousakis will call the shots from the bench.
Earlier this week, City added another striker to the squad when announcing the capture of Ugandan Allan Kateregga.
Club boss John Comitis said he had only received the player’s work permit last Friday, which left too little time to complete the registration paper work. So Kateregga will miss the Celtic fixture, but will be available for the Cape club’s next match – against Mamelodi Sundowns this coming Friday.