Peter Shalulile has been pretty much an ever-present figure at Mamelodi Sundowns since arriving from Highlands Park at the start of this season, but he will unavailable on Sunday when the Brazilians take Black Leopards at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
ALSO READ: Sundowns’ Affonso opens up about his year on the sidelines
It will only be the second time that the Namibian striker has had to sit on the stands and watch his teammates.
Shalulile, one of Sundowns’ most important players this season, is suspended for the tie against Lidoda Duvha after picking up a fourth yellow card against Stellenbosch FC, but Downs co-head coach, Manqoba Mngqithi is not having too much of a headache about the Namibian’s absence.
“We trust in the team that we have and we have lost both Kermit Erasmus and Peter, who have been sharing that space but fortunately Mauricio Affonso and Sibusiso Vilakazi are coming back. There is also Keletso Makgalwa who is back. We are confident that we have players who can score because we are not reliant on the strikers to score for us. We have had a lot of goals coming from Themba Zwane, Lebohang Maboe and even defenders,” said Mngqithi.
Having scored 14 goals in all competitions this season, as well as providing six assists, Mngqithi admits that the side will miss Shalulile and lamented the actual suspension, suggesting the referee erred in his judgement when flashing the yellow card to the 27-year-old striker.
“It is a big loss, he is very important to us, he scores in almost every match. It is worse when you look at why he is suspended because at times there are these suspensions that we get and I also had one this season but I know that I did not do anything.
“I look at Peter Shalulile’s one, he got fouled and yet he was given a yellow card and suspended. I was a bit worried when it happened because it looked like he might get a second yellow card … We are happy that he is only missing one match.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.