Former Orlando Pirates striker, Phumudzo Manenzhe, has said that Brighton Mhlongo is a quality goalkeeper, but that yesterday's 6-1 loss to SuperSport United was a day to forget for him.
Merciless SuperSport Put Six Past Pirates
Pirates were on the wrong side of a devastating defeat to Stuart Baxter's team and Mhlongo was criticised for his performance between the posts, but the man known affectionately as 'Bold' has jumped to his defence and detailed Mhlongo's qualities as a goalkeeper.
"I think he (Mhlongo) is a quality keeper and he deserves to be in the Bafana Bafana squad," Manenzhe told Soccer Laduma. "He's one of the best keepers in the PSL. His positioning, his handling and his ability to communicate with the team is great."
However, the 32-year-old said that Mhlongo did not show those qualities during yesterday's game and that he will need mental strength to get over his poor performance.
"But, yesterday, in the SuperSport game, all those things didn't show. For the first goal and the goal where he collided with Issa Sarr, and there was also the goal with the penalty, which I don't think was in the box, but he fouled him," he continued. "So, I think, for Brighton Mhlongo, it was a day to forget. It will challenge his mental ability to recover from this. He made three crucial mistakes, but hopefully he can recover from it."
