Snl24 | HELLO: PSL coach explains mid-match phone call

Polokwane City head coach Phuti Mohafe with Oswin Appollis and Thabang Matuludi.

Polokwane City head coach Phuti Mohafe has explained a somewhat strange scene that saw him answer a phone call mid-match during the MTN8 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday.

Rise and Shine crashed out of the MTN8 at the first hurdle courtesy of an own goal by Thabang Matuludi in extra time after the two teams could not be separated in 90 minutes.

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The match itself was not short on controversial moments with Sundowns being reduced to 10 men when Denis Onyango received a red card for handling outside his area with Hlayisi Chauke through on goal.

In one of the stranger scenes of the match, City coach Mohafe was spotted deep in conversation over the phone, raising curious questions about who was on the other side of the line and what the conversation could have been about. 

This was during half-time of extra time, with Sundowns having taken the lead via a Thabang Matuludi own goal. 

Speaking to journalists after the match, Mohafe was happy to clear the air, explaining that the call was to ‘consult’ with his technical team members.

“With me calling… I have to get advice from my other technical team members. It’s not a one-man show,” he explained.

“So, I had to call and finalise what was on my mind, and we had to discuss that before I make my final decision.”

The identity of these technical team members, or where they were seated during the encounter, remains a mystery. 

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The soft-spoken coach went on to give an account of where he believes it went wrong for his side.

“We sat back a little too deep, and that frustrated them a bit with transitions, leading to the red card of the Sundowns keeper,” he shared.

“We should have scored three or four goals from those transitions, so I think had we been composed…

“We were so unfortunate to score that goal for them, they didn’t score. We have beaten ourselves.”

Having progressed to the semi-finals, Sundowns will now face Stellenbosch, who defeated TS Galaxy in the quarter-finals.