JOHANNESBURG – Being runners-up in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge (MDC) for the past two seasons obviously doesn’t sit well with Bloemfontein Celtics’ coach Jeffrey Legetla - hence he hopes that winning the newly incepted MultiChoice Diski Shield (MDS) will break the hoodoo which lies over the team as they prepare for next season.
In the 2016/2017 campaign, Celtic lost the title to Mamelodi Sundowns by four points, while Golden Arrows recently snatched it away from them with the same tally.
“We want to win this cup," Legetla said. “The good thing is that we’ve promoted more than three players. Neo Maema and Kabelo Dlamini are first team regulars now. We want to win this tournament as it will boost our morale going into the next season."
Striker Kgotso Mofokeng ensured that Celtic got off to a bright start in the Shield as he netted a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over Ajax on Sunday.
Celtic now top the Coastal West Pool, joint on points with Free State Stars, while Cape Town City and Ajax complete the rest of the standings.
However, it was not just Mofokeng who stole the show, as winger Teboho Modise was also influential in the team’s win. Modise played provider to Mofokeng’s only open-play goal, while the other two came from set-pieces. Legetla believes the 23-year-old will be more deadly if he continues to be a box-to-box striker.
“The boy is marvellous to watch," he said. “Even during training I always tell him when he goes inside the box, he’s much better and he’ll score many goals. If he remains focused and listens to the coaches, I think he’ll go far.’’
On Modise’s talent, he said: “When you look at a player like him, there’s no need to waste time. You need to take him up (to the first team) immediately. The boy is matured, and playing according to the instructions of the coaches. I am very happy with him at the moment he is training with the head coach (Vaselin Jelusic), which gives him much-needed experience."
Maybe if Celtic understood the phrase that says that the best form off defence is attack, they would have walked away with at least one title from the past two seasons. They hold the highest scoring record in either season, but their defence has left a lot to be desired.
Legetla laments the lapse of concentration from his young squad.
“Sometimes they tend to lose concentration," he explained. “But we will keep working hard to rectify that."