Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Aubrey Lekwane has explained why Relebohile Mofokeng was ineffective against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Before the Downs game, the 21-year-old winger scored in three consecutive matches playing as a number 10.
On Wednesday, Abdeslam Ouaddou shifted the player to the left wing, with Patrick Maswanganyi playing as an attacking midfielder.
Lekwane said the Pirates coach frustrated Mofokeng by moving him back into the left-wing position.
“A game is a game; sometimes you have your days and sometimes not,” he told KickOff.
“But the major problem was Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis. They lacked supply from the Pirates midfielders.
“The coach said himself that he was giving Mofokeng a new role of playing as an attacking midfielder, but yesterday he took him back to his old position and played him as a winger.
“It frustrates a player sometimes. As a player, you have to master your position,” Lekwane added.
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Lekwane said Mofokeng still needed to grow and he shouldn’t be made to carry the team.
“Mofokeng knows football a lot, but he has not grown that much in terms of experience. On most occasions, he survives because he knows football. But you cannot expect him to carry a team or make him a captain… you’d be killing the young boy if you do likewise,” Lekwane continued.
“He still needs to grow a bit. He and Appollis were not getting passes; they had to drop back to collect the ball,” he added.
On Saturday, Mofokeng again failed to score against Casric Stars in the Nedbank Cup round of 16.