After fifteen league wins in a row, Mamelodi Sundown’s superb streak was finally put to an end. Away against a young Stellenbosch FC the Sundowns played a bit of a rotated side, with their eye on the CAF Champions League, and got punished for it. After an exciting first half, it looked like The Brazilians were going to take the win home as Cassius Mailula, who was just brought on, opened the score. The hosts kept fighting though and got a very deserved goal after Iqraam Rayners converted a penalty.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Olwethu Makhanya
Player Profile:
- Nationality: South-African
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 30/04/2004
- Club: Stellenbosch FC
- Career: Stellenbosch FC
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Now I wanted to watch Olwethu Makhanya for a while now and I thought the match against Mamelodi Sundowns would be a busy one for the youngster, as it would probably be a tough one against the league leaders. I was wrong however, as we didn’t see as much of the 18-year-old as I hoped. According to Wyscout he only had 32 ‘total actions’ against the Sundowns, where he normally averages double.
Still, I got to see Makhanya in action for 90 minutes and have a decent idea of his skill set. Olwethu Makhanya played as the right-sided centre back in Stellenbosch FC’s 4-3-3 formation. At the age of just 18 Makhanya’s physique is very impressive. I couldn’t find exactly how tall he is but he is an absolute mountain and I would estimate him around 1.90m. With his impressive leap, he did well to clear a lot of long passes with his head. I didn’t really see him in aerial duels, but I can’t see how he wouldn’t do good in those. The youngster still has a pretty lean build and will definitely benefit from gaining some muscle mass in the coming years. Now Makhanya didn’t look like the most explosive player on the first meters, but showed good pace over longer distances.
Defensively Makhanya looked quite mature for his age. He stayed very composed and made a couple of important tackles. With his very long legs, it was very hard to get past him. There were a few occasions where he looked a little vulnerable though, these happened when he was in a defensive 1v1 on the wing, where he got beat quite easily. Also, he has to keep scanning well defensively, this is something that he already did very well, but in one or two moments he got a bit too fixated when the ball was on the wing, which gave his opponent in the box a lot of space.
With the ball at his feet, Makhanya didn’t do anything too crazy. He played it quite safe throughout this match and a lot of the build-up was lead by Stellenbosch FC’s goalkeeper Stephens, who really has a fantastic passing range. Makhanya showed that he is able to play a pinpoint switch, but his longer passes were still a little inconsistent.
Rating – A2
I saw a lot of positive things from Makhanya and I’m really curious what the future will bring for him. According to his agent there was some interest from the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, but we always have to take this with a pinch of salt. Makhanya isn’t ready yet for first-team football in Europe, but if he gets the right guidance and help a move to a European academy could be great for him.
Devin Titus
Player Profile:
- Nationality: South-African
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 18/05/2001
- Club: Stellenbosch FC
- Career: Stellenbosch FC
- Position: Right Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Devin Titus played as the right winger for Stellenbosch FC and played a fantastic match before getting taken off after 68 minutes, as he took a few knocks. Stellenbosch played in a 4-3-3 formation on paper and where we saw left winger Rayners play more like a striker, Devin Titus kept the width on the right side for Stellenbosch.
Titus was an absolute menace on the wings, constantly creating danger by making deep runs and his ability to beat his direct opponent in 1v1s. He mostly stayed on the right wing, but also made a few dangerous diagonal runs. The 21-year-old looked very explosive on the first meters with good top speed and was able to quickly change direction whilst sprinting. Titus also did a lot of work pressing when the Sundowns tried to build up from the back.
In possession, he would often could inside with his right foot and found a lot of space in the box like this. What limited him in these situations was that he didn’t look comfortable at all using his left foot. His crossing with his right foot was good, but he could’ve done a lot more in some situations using his weak foot. Below is a great example of one of these situations.
As I said Titus is a very quick winger and wasn’t easy to get off the ball with his great agility, which resulted in him getting fouled a bunch of times. He looked decent technically but it has to be said that there was a lot of space for him. I didn’t really get to see how he operates in tight areas. Titus also had a few shooting opportunities but didn’t manage to strike the ball very well. In both situations simply leaned backward way too much and didn’t couldn’t find the target.
Rating – A2
One of Titus’ teammates Jayden Adams was on trial with the Swedish side Varbergs BoIS last year and I think that the Allsvenskan could be a nice possible destination for Titus if he goes abroad. He has to get at least slightly more confident with his left foot though as it limits him too much.
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