AmaZulu FC duo Ben Motshwari and Etiosa Ighodaro have come forward to publicly support their teammate, goalkeeper Veli Mothwa, following his recent mistakes that have drawn criticism.
Mothwa’s error in Usuthu’s league opener against Polokwane City cost his team a point, as he failed to catch a set-piece ball in additional time, leading to a 2-1 defeat.
Similarly, in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, Mothwa made another mistake for Bafana Bafana against Uganda, which allowed the She-Cranes to take the lead. Fortunately, a late goal from Thalente Mbatha salvaged a 2-2 draw.
Despite the criticism the 33-year-old has faced on social media, his teammates, Motshwari and Ighodaro, have voiced their unwavering support.
They assured that the shot-stopper has a solid support system at the club to help him overcome these tough moments and regain his confidence.
“He (Mothwa) has his teammates, he is our very own, he is our brother, and he is a very good friend of mine,” Motshwari said.
“It’s never easy for such things to happen to any other footballer it’s not easy. But for us (teammates) is to be there for him and support him regardless (of what happen) because at any given day any game it can also happen to me, and it can also happen to Ighodaro.
“For us as a club, I believe our management, coach, us players, and everyone at the club we just have to be there for him.
“There is no time for us to point fingers we have a game next week on Wednesday a big one (against Kaizer Chiefs) we have to forget about the mistakes or everything that is going around social media pointing at him.
“The most important part is for us as AmaZulu to back him up and he knows that he has our support, we can’t just let him suffer alone at this moment.”
On loan striker Ighodaro continued with words of support to the Bafana player stating that football is a game of mistakes and Mothwa mustn’t undermine his ability of being a national team player as well as a Usuthu player.
“Mistake is part of football we know his ability to go to the national team wasn’t a mistake,” Ighodaro explained.
“He was selected because of his ability I know he is going to prove people wrong. He is going to bounce back stronger.”
𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗶 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗟𝗞 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀!!!pic.twitter.com/AMf6w2iotS
— #UNPLAYABLE (@UnplayableZA) September 14, 2024
