Bucs hero Mofokeng vows to stay grounded

Asserting he feels like a hero after his Nedbank Cup final heroics, Orlando Pirates starlet Relebohile Mofokeng is on guard against potential new friends, insisting he wants to keep his circle very small as mixing with a lot of people could hurt his budding career.

Proving once again that he's destined for greatness, Mofokeng capped off a fantastic week in style by coming off the bench to net the winner with virtually the last touch of the game in the Nedbank Cup final against Mamelodi Sundowns at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

Mofokeng's stoppage-time goal made the final score 2-1. Themba Zwane had put Sundowns ahead in the 54th minute, before Patrick Maswanganyi levelled matters from the spot 26 minutes into the second half.

“I feel like a hero. It was a great goal. They [Bucs coaches] wanted me to be the game-changer and I did that,'' the ever-smiling Mofokeng told reporters.

“The smaller the group, the better you know...because if you are friends with a lot of people it's easy to attract negativity. When you have a small circle, it's always easy to take advice from each other, so I will keep my circle very small. You can't be listening to a lot of people as your friends because that will mess up your head.''

The 19-year-old winger's first big moment of the week came on Thursday when he was included in Bafana Bafana Bafana final squad for the first time to face Nigeria and Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifiers. Bafana face Nigeria away on Friday, before hosting Zimbabwe at Free State Stadium four days later.

Mofokeng wasn't really keen to talk about his Bafana expectations. “I will hear what the coach [Hugo Broos] says and we'll take it from there.''

The Pirates winger is also nominated for the DStv Premiership Young Player of the Season and Nedbank Cup Most Promising Player of the Tournament accolades after a stellar term. “I feel like I deserve the nominations but if I don't win, I will be happy for whoever wins,'' Mofokeng said.