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Cape Town City midfielder Thabo Nodada was close to being one of the forgotten men of local football, but his exploits against SuperSport United last weekend suggested that the little stick of dynamite was back as one of the PSL players to watch this season.
The 24-year-old marked his return from injury with a brace and a man of the match award in City’s 3-3 draw against United last Saturday.
The feat coincided with City’s net-bulging act, which has seen the team score in every Absa Premiership game so far this season. The six-goal thriller at Mbombela Stadium further illustrated City’s strongest point. Striker Kermit Erasmus has also rediscovered his scoring touch.
For the record, the Citizens were the second-highest scoring team with eight goals – behind SuperSport and Bloemfontein Celtic, who were tied on nine – in the Premiership before this weekend’s matches.
For Nodada, being on the pitch for 90 minutes for the first time this season was what he was longing for, especially after overcoming a hamstring injury. The midfielder has seen a few months of setbacks as he spent the better part of the second half of last season on the sidelines with a fractured foot.
Racking up player of the match accolades, coupled with his name on the scoresheet, was a regular occurrence for Nodada in matches. He believes the latest feat could be a good omen as he attempts to return to the form that got him a Bafana Bafana call-up late last year.
“It’s a confidence booster that, in my first full 90 minutes of the season I was voted man of the match and scored two goals,” the pint-sized midfielder told City Press ahead of City’s home league clash with Golden Arrows this afternoon.
“I’ll get there. I am still trying to regain my touch.”
Nodada made cameo appearances against Baroka FC and Stellenbosch FC at the beginning of the season, but a hamstring injury stalled his progress.
The player from Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal is now relishing his newly established partnership in midfield with former Orlando Pirates midfielder Mpho Makola, who joined the Citizens in July.
“He is an excellent player who brings valuable experience to the team. He is a box-to-box player and we cover for one another,” enthused Nodada, who thrived alongside Roland Putsche before the Austrian was sidelined by a knee injury last season.
City seemed to have felt the absence of combative players such as Nodada and Putsche as well as centre-back Taariq Fielies, as coach Benni McCarthy’s side have conceded as many goals as they have scored so far this campaign.
McCarthy was this week overjoyed by the Nodada’s return and the imminent return of Fielies, proclaiming that he was looking forward to having a stronger team.
Fielies (27) is making steady progress after stomach surgery.
“We are addressing that problem of conceding a lot of goals and it will be good to have an influential leader with a big personality and experience like Fielies’ back,” said Nodada.
“Against Arrows, we’ll be up against a team in good form, but we’ll make them feel that this is Cape Town,” he warned.
Arrows coach Steve Komphela, on the other hand, said immediately after their 1-1 draw against AmaZulu last weekend that Abafana Bes’thende were starting with a clean slate by targeting 10 points in their next batch of five fixtures.
They fell two points short after collecting eight in their opening five fixtures.
Since their 5-0 humiliation by Bloemfontein Celtic last month, Arrows have maintained an unbeaten run in their last three matches – a win and two draws.
Key to the team’s form has been attacking midfielder Nduduzo Sibiya, who has had a positive influence on either wing.
The 24-year-old has chipped in with two goals in three appearances.
. In another Absa Premiership fixture today, Baroka FC will host MTN8 finalists Highlands Park at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
Both matches kick off at 3pm.
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