MAMELODI Sundowns will dedicate their next 15 matches to the late Anele Ngcongca, as they continue to celebrate the life of their ex-player who died in a car crash last Monday in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Brazilians kicked off their 16-days in celebration of Ngcongca's life with a pause in the 16th minute of their DStv Premiership match against Stellenbosch on Saturday to honour the player who was en route to join AmaZulu.
Downs won the match 3-0 against the Stellies with goals from Peter Shalulile, Themba Zwane and Kermit Erasmus to maintain their unbeaten run in five PSL outings - won four and drew one.
Downs co-coach, Manqoba Mngqithi, said because Ngcongca was wearing jersey No 16, they wanted to make sure that they kept that in their minds and celebrated it in the 16th minute of the game - which now they are left with 15, as they honour the legend.
"We did that very well, and again with the support from Stellenbosch and match officials," said Mngqithi.
"We are dedicating the next 16 games to Anele, which started with the game against Stellenbosch to try and make sure that we live up to his attributes as a player, humility, selflessness as a player, competitiveness because he never wanted to lose.
"He got very angry whenever he lost matches. He was very competitive and a very happy person. He made the changeroom look better with jokes, friendly to everyone and mentored all the youngsters. We believe all those attributes made him a player that deserves to be celebrated.
"He was legend having played 50 games for the national team (Bafana Bafana) and won three league trophies with Sundowns - and that is big in our standards. We believe there's a little bit more that he could have given to the game, but that is what we've decided as a team."
He added that the management of Sundowns has been very supportive of what they have asked as a team, "and the president has been very supportive too because Anele was a big figure".
"He was a soldier who served the country and Sundowns very well," Mngqithi added on Saturday after their emphatic win.
"The PSL made the moment of silent (before the game) - special moment to celebrate his life and all those that we have lost. We were all distraught when we heard the news (of Ngcongca's passing) because he was a mentor in the changeroom. And we were worried we might not come up tops."
