Even though Mamelodi Sundowns have a wide selection of players to choose from, coach Pitso Mosimane was never a coach known for his squad rotation skills, as he more often than not believes in the tried and trusted.
However, in Downs' last three fixtures in all competitions, Mosimane successfully managed to chop and change his squad with maximum effect.
Against AmaZulu in the Absa Premiership a couple of days ago, Mosimane gave a few players a chance to play who have not featured for quite some time. It was a risk worth taking as the squad never looked out of place, even though they had to grind out a 1-0 victory.
Names like Asavela Mbekile, Siyanda Zwane and Mzikayise Mashaba were all involved in first team action in the tie, despite them being down the pecking order at the club.
Mosimane’s choice to field relatively rusty players worked for him, and this could have been down to the fact that tactically, Mosimane is at the top of his game. This is evident in Jingles utilising young Bongani Zungu more frequently in recent times ahead of the more established Hlompho Kekana.
Kekana and Zungu are two completely different players, as Kekana is an authentic hardman where as Zungu is more like a midfield maestro.
Excluding Kekana meant the steel and grit would be taken away in midfield, but ever since Zungu was called upon, Downs remained stable in the middle of the park - especially going forward.
It appears then that Mosimane is slowly but surely mastering the craft of rotating his squad and it could well be our secret weapon in our title pursuits.
