AmaZulu FC head coach Arthur Zwane was pleased with teenager Bayanda Thabede’s performance in his professional debut match on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old attacker started for Usuthu and played 72 minutes in their 1-0 defeat to Stellenbosch FC in the Betway Premiership match played at the Danie Craven Stadium.
Zwane, who won the 2018 MultiChoice Diski Shield with Kaizer Chiefs as the head coach, believes DStv Diski Challenge product, Thabede, can develop into a stalwart at AmaZulu.
“I think he did very well, but obviously in the second half, he was running out of steam and made a few mistakes when he lost the ball. But playing is the only way he can learn. He’s got so much quality; in the first half he was giving us those half turns to penetrate and always looking forward,” Zwane said.
“Sometimes you ask yourself, should you have given more opportunity and more time earlier in the season (to young players) but obviously we’ve been a situation where we needed to pull ourselves out the relegation zone. The opportunity is there now and he’s been doing well in the Diski.
“This is the kind of investment AmaZulu should be making in their young players. If you look at the model of a team like Stellenbosch, where they come from and how they played many youngsters, look at how they are benefiting right now.”
Zwane also gave an example of Devon Titus, who dazzled for Stellenbosch FC in the Diski Challenge, before becoming a key player for Stellies’ first team, and he is now a member of the Bafana Bafana squad.
“Now he’s a top player in the country and he’s in the national team. If we look at our squad in terms of the average age, this is the right time to give this boy (Thabede) the opportunity to play with the senior guys who’ve got the experience, that they can guide him to cope with the demands and the pressure of playing at this level,” he added.
AmaZulu will be back in action on 27 April when they lock horns with Golden Arrows in the Betway Premiership at the Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammarsdale.
The KwaZulu-Natal Derby encounter will kick off at 15h00.
