AmaZulu FC head coach Pablo Franco Martin has defended goalkeeper Veli Mothwa after his latest howler in their Betway Premiership opener against Polokwane City.
Usuthu fell 2-1 to Polokwane City at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium, a match that seemed destined for a draw until the final moments. In the dying seconds, Polokwane City launched an attack, resulting in the ball slipping through Mothwa’s grasp and landing at the feet of Thabang Matuludi, who scored the decisive goal for the Limpopo side.
This mistake came just a week after Mothwa had conceded two long-range goals in Bafana Bafana’s 2-2 draw against Uganda in an AFCON 2025 Qualifier.
Martin acknowledged that while Mothwa’s error was significant, other players, such as strikers, also missed opportunities. He emphasized that his focus is on helping the goalkeeper regain his form.
“Everybody saw what happened in the last goal and it’s clear that it’s a mistake,” Franco told reporters after the match. “But we also made mistakes with our attacking players, and in the end, it’s the same value when you are conceding a goal and when you are not scoring a goal. Today we had four, five clear chances to score, hit the posts, and nobody is talking about the offensive players.”
He continued, “Sometimes I think you guys are a bit unfair, but I understand that it sells more newspapers or garners more clicks on social media when you post about these things. It’s a pity.”
Martin underscored the importance of Mothwa to the team, saying, “We need to recover him because he’s our main goalkeeper. He is the only player since I came here who is with Bafana Bafana, and that’s for a reason. Now we have to see if he can get back to his best as soon as possible.”
He added, “He had a good game until that moment. The way he conceded the goal was an unlucky situation at the end, and it’s costing us one point. He was managing well, communicating effectively with the defense, and was accurate when leaving the box to handle through balls. So there’s nothing to say about the whole game; it’s just an unfortunate end.”
Veli Mothwa with a huge mistake 😯
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) September 14, 2024
His error hands all three points to Polokwane City 😫#BetwayPrem | @Betway_za pic.twitter.com/iQ8BFQJCQX
