We already knew Lehlohonolo Majoro had balls. It was written
all over his t-shirt when Kaizer Chiefs downed Moroka Swallows 3-0 back in
February.
After his record-breaking four-goal Nedbank Cup blitz
against the rarely-spotted Leopards in Polowane , he earned the match ball –
and on Saturday against Platinum Stars he was at it again, scoring the first in
a 2-1 win which puts the Amakhosi right back in the title hunt.
For South Africa’s estimated 15 million Amakhosi fans, a
goalden Majoro could be the difference between another season of frustration
and an autumn of wild celebration – his record 16-minute first-half hat-trick
ensured a place in the Nedbank quarter-finals and a few more to finish the
season will leave Vladmir Vermezovic’s men handily placed to snatch the double
if leaders Orlando Pirates stumble – and I suspect they might.
Though we must keep an eye on Sundowns – who play Leopards
tomorrow night at the Peter Mokabe Stadium – and Moroka Swallows are certainly
my pick as dark horses – Chiefs remain a potent threat with their huge
following and depth of squad.
Majoro, affectionately known as Laser, didn’t quite match
the world’s fastest-ever hat-trick in that Nedbank Cup clash – that was set in
Scotland in 1964 when Thomas Ross scored three in 91 seconds for Ross County
against Nairn County – but the statisticians are struggling to find anything
quicker than 16 minutes in the record books, if you discount the 24-0 Sundowns
hammering of the shocking Powerlines in the last round.
With the impressive Steve Khomphela’s Free State Stars to
come in the quarter-finals (the draw also gave us Amazulu v Santos, Supersport
United v Jomo Cosmos and Mamelodi Sundowns v Maritzburg United), Majoro knows
there’s plenty of hard work to come.
But what a change from a month ago. On March 9, after
unveiling his “I do have balz” undershirt after scoring against Swallows, the
former Amazulu striker told Supersport after being fined for getting things off
his chest: "I just wanted to answer my detractors. I had to make a point.
The message on my vest was light-hearted, I wanted to make my point politely,
but in a meaningful manner.”
Today, the ridiculous R30,000 penalty handed out by the “offended”
PSL for his vested interest appears historical, hysterical. The goal against
Swallows was followed by his first Nedbank Cup strike against Cape Town All
Stars, a supersub effort against Orlando Pirates, another in the 2-0 win over
Bloemfontein Celtic. Then came all four in the 4-0 cup triumph and Saturday’s
strike at the afokeng Sports Palace. He now has nine in his last nine games,
with 14 so far this season.
Majora was glowing when he told us: “There was so much expectation
when I came here and yes, I did struggle. They were saying I was a one-season
wonder at Amazulu (where he scored 14 times in 27 games last season) and that I
was a mistake.
“But I pushed myself. The results are showing now. But credit
to Siphiwe Tshabalala too. He knows the runs I make, his passes always put me
in a good goal-scoring position. We win as a unit, that’s what swings games in
our favour.”
Born in Ladybrand on August 19, 1986, Majoro started kicking
ball for Manyatseng United Brothers before playing for Free State University
and then Bloemfontein’s Young Tigers. Then he was off north to the University
of Johannesburg and Highlands Park before Amazulu spotted his spiky-haired,
fleet-footed talent and nose for goals.
The rest is history. Capped once by Bafana Bafana – against
Tanzania in May last year – Majoro deserves to be seen as a potent answer to
the nation’s goalscoring problems before AFCON 2013. Are you listening Pitso?
Neal Collins (@nealcol on twitter) is a South African
sportswriter who dodged national service for 25 years by working among the
madmen on Fleet Street. The World Cup brought him home.
This story first appeared in The New Age, the latest in my
Neal & Pray series which appears every Tuesday in South Africa’s newest
daily newspaper. www.thenewage.co.za.
