BONGANI MALUNGA
Mogakolodi Ngele saw his Nedbank Cup dream evaporate as Bidvest Wits suffered a shock elimination at the hands of Jomo Cosmos. The Nedbank Cup remains the only trophy that has eluded Ngele in South Africa. He has won the league title, the MTN8 Cup and the Telkom Knockout but the Nedbank Cup has proved hard to come by.
Ngele scored in regulation time to ensure that the tie went to extra time after his side were trailing for most parts of the game, Wits eventually lost 5-4 on penalties and were eliminated at the last 16 stage. The Zebras forward can find solace in the fact that he is the Nedbank Cup’s top scorer this season with three goals in two games.
He scored a brace in the previous round against Cape Town City, whereby he also got a ‘Man of the Match’ award. Despite being eliminated from the Nedbank Cup, Ngele’s club are in the perfect position to assume leadership of the Premier Soccer League in the next few weeks if results go their way.
Wits are only one point behind surprise league leaders Cape Town City with two games in hand. Interestingly, Ngele’s club is also six points ahead of his former club Mamelodi Sundowns having played a game more than the Pretoria outfit.
If Wits can eventually reach the summit of the league table they could be in pole position to land their first PSL title, which would represent another record for Ngele as he would be the first Motswana to win the league with two different clubs in consecutive years. In total, Ngele has scored four goals in all competitions this season and has been given game time compared to his ill fated spell at Sundowns.