Matlakala still pinching himself after Magesi heroics

Magesi may have won the Motsepe Foundation Championship title last month, but for midfielder Maboke Matlakala, the feeling has not sunk in yet.

Matlakala, who played a key role in Magesi winning promotion with a few matches to spare in the recently concluded season, said this is something he will never forget in a while.

“I have seen a lot before, I went to playoffs and got relegated with Magesi, it is the first time I'm promoted after being number one in the league,” Matlakala told Sowetan yesterday.

“It is something that I will never forget in my life. We were playing Milford and that's when we felt that we could win the league and everyone was ready to do that. The happiness, togetherness and spirit were high. You could see everyone wanted it. It was one of the best moments in my career.”

The 34-year-old veteran midfielder said his ambition is to help the club remain in the Premiership for another season. “For us as Magesi, it will be better when we start to focus from the start of the season,” he said.

“I think for me, being a family here is something that will help the team achieve what we want, being together and working hard is the only thing that can make people survive. It doesn't matter how small the team is, having the same ideas that we want to achieve ... I think it helps a lot.”

Meanwhile, Matlakala is also giving back to the community with his annual soccer and netball tournament at Ga-Kama village outside Polokwane.

The youth tournament started on June 2 and will conclude on Sunday.

“This is a way to give back to the community. We also have coaches from different clubs scouting for players here and things have been going well from day one.”