CAPE TOWN – Most footballers find they start to wane once they hit their 30s, but not goalkeepers.
They tend to get better with the benefit of age and experience. An intriguing sidebar to Sunday’s MTN8 semi-final, second leg tie between Bidvest Wits and Cape Town City in Johannesburg is that it features two veterans in the goals.
For Wits, it’s 37-year-old Moeneeb Josephs and for City, 35-year-old Shu-aib Walters.
In the end, victory could come down to which goalkeeper has the better day.
Josephs will certainly love nothing better. This week, he celebrated 20 years in the PSL. The Mitchell’s Plain keeper made his debut for Cape Town Spurs on September 7, 1997 – he was just 17.
Today, he’s still going strong. During that time, he played with distinction for Ajax Cape Town, Orlando Pirates and Wits. He’s won the PSL title with Pirates and Wits, and he’s still as hungry and ebullient as ever.
One of the PSL’s enduring characters, he’s still performing at the top of his game.
After coming to prominence at Vasco da Gama, Walters went on to play for Bloemfontein Celtic, Maritzburg United and Black Aces before returning home to Cape Town when City was established last June.
He has been one of the Cape side’s form players at this early stage of the season, having been named Man-of-the-Match in the two wins over Wits, in the league and the first leg semi-final.
City take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg and, as such, are expecting to come under fire from Wits today.
They are braced for some relentless offensive play from the opposition, which is why, if City are to make it to the MTN8 final, Walters will have to be at his best.
@Reinerss11