Sekhukhune United captain Linda Mntambo has credited head coach Lehlohonolo Seema’s idea of using him as a false striker in the 2-1 DStv Premiership victory over Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
The false nine role earned Mntambo the Man of the Match accolade after scoring and assisting in Babina Noko’s fifth straight win.
The result moved Sekhukhune from seventh to third on the log with 33 points.
“It was never easy playing against Pirates. One thing we did is, we stuck to the structure, we stuck to the instructions of the coach. We knew that we would suffer at some point, we had to defend and we had to keep shifting and keep the block and the goals were going to come.
“Look, since the resumption of the league after the AFCON we’ve been working extremely hard as a team,” Mntambo told SuperSport TV after the game.
Mntambo, who spent four years with Bucs, says they will continue to work hard after collecting their fifth consecutive win in the league.
“Now it’s five games unbeaten, five wins in a row, and we keep going, going at training to push harder and focus on the next game, it’s just a collective win.
“When the coach came in midweek and he said ‘I’m going to play you as a false striker, I’m going to change the whole structure and play you as a false 9, do you believe me?’
“I said ‘coach, oh well the team comes first, I’m there to play the role’ and look at what it did for us today, I got an assist and a goal,” Mntambo added.
Mntambo dedicated his Man-of-the-Match award to his son, Piano.
“My son is turning seven years old on Monday, Piano. The team first for the performance, the technical team, the fans that have come out in numbers, the management, just everyone associated to the team, but this one is for Piano, happy birthday mfana kadaddy. Happy birthday in advance my boy,” Figo added.
