DOLLY GOOD SHOW! Keagan finally jets off, let's hope it was worth the fuss

MANNEQUIN OF THE MOMENT: Keagan Dolly

COULD the Keagan Dolly saga really be over? Can we stop talking about buy-out clauses and Dispute Resolution Chambers? Can we finally focus on these strange swap deals involving Chippa United?

It appears to be so. Nobody move. Anything could yet happen. But in the wee hours of Sunday morning, French Ligue 1 club Montpellier, a modest 13th out of 20 on the latest table, announced the 23-year-old South Africa would sign for 1.7m Euros on a four year deal. That’s about R24.8m. Not bad for a lad bought from R6m from Ajax Cape Town three years ago.

Tokelo Rantie moved from Malmo to Bournemouth for the same fee of around £1.5m in 2013, but no South African club was involved. Same applies to Benni McCarthy. It’s a South African record, though with transfer fees more secretive than the President’s underpants, who really knows?

Since Dolly’s move to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2014, after spending a season on loan at his old club, Dolly has won the PSL title, the Nedbank Cup, the Telkom KO and the MTN8 before, as we all know, helping Masandawana to the African Champions League triumph three months ago.

Dolly’s name appeared in the CAF Best of Africa XI at the GLO awards to put the cap on a fantastic season for club and player, even Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi could only make the bench. 

But the end of his Sundowns career was blighted by a life-or-death struggle with Dolly’s agency, Siyavuma. Their boss, the no-nonsense pint-sized Yorkshireman Paul Mitchell actually employs Dolly’s dad Ramon, who was wheeled out on national radio to fight the good fight.

He’s a tough negotiator Mitchell, and he can burn the ears off any football journalist in the country when he feels he has been wronged. Again and again he told me: “Keagan’s done it all in South Africa, it’s time for him to move.” Curiously Sundowns chairman Patrice Motsepe was saying roughly the same thing at the same time.

When Sundowns successfully went to the PSL’s DRC to restore Dolly’s buy-out clause from 733,000 Euros (on his current signed contract in 2015) to £1.5m (the amount on his original contract in 2014), Mitchell went bonkers.

With Sundowns allowed to double the original bids offered last year by Greek giants Olympiakos and Montpellier, Mitchell could see his golden goose being slowly cooked as Manchester City’s City Group appeared to be keen on moving Dolly to their sister club New York City in the American MLS.

Mitchell was having none of it. The warm-afterglow of Sundowns’ African conquest quickly cooled as Mitchell and Sundowns officials went to war; serious threats and organised media campaigns followed. Mitchell claims he was threatened with jail for perjury, Sundowns claimed dodgy dealings were at play.

But in truth, what was the point? Dolly cost £1.5m at a time when Chinese clubs are offering ridiculous amounts for players coming to the end of their careers. It would barely buy you Olivier Giroud’s beard or Joe Hart’s gloves.

The deal was always on, the buy-out clause was a mere detail. It’s a bargain in current terms. Dolly said farewell to his Sundowns team-mates this week amid photogenic smiles as they returned to training over the ridiculously long Christmas break.

But it’s hard to leave with a grin when your club somehow managed to alter a signed contract, when your agent and your dad are forced to issue apologies.

Mitchell issued a statement as the deal approached closure, saying: “For Keagan to follow his dream of playing in Europe and to fly the South African flag high will be a dream come true.”

Let’s hope that’s true. The agent’s dreams have certainly come true. And Sundowns have made a 400 percent profit in three seasons.

But Dolly’s dreams? Let’s hope he doesn’t get Lost in France. Kermit Erasmus, a man with far more experience in Europe and South Africa, has just been loaned out by Rennes to Lens. It’s tough out there.

Montpellier may have seen some great names come through their ranks, but they are not giants of the French game right now. They last won a trophy in 2012.

Let’s hope we finally see a young South African explode in to the English Premier League or La Liga, or even Series A. We don’t have any at the moment. Dolly has the talent, but Bongani Khumalo can tell him how hard it is to move 5,000 miles and train in the frost for various coaches who don’t really know you.

Still, Dolly’s Wikipedia entry now states quite clearly: “Keagan Larenzo Dolly is a South African football player who plays as a midfielder for Montpellier in the League 1.” I’d love to know who edited that before he’s even played a game.

On Friday, local football media said Dolly had already had a medical in France. Before he'd left OR Tambo. There could yet be a twist in this sorry tale.

All the best Keagan, may the force be with you. Best avoid any future Star Wars.

NOT BAD KHAMA! Billiat shines at AFCON and surely Europe must be next

TIME TO LEAVE THE COMFORT ZONE: Khama Billiat

SUNDAY afternoon in Gabon was not just about Zimbabwe holding highly-rated Algeria to a pulsating 2-2 draw, it was also about Khama Billiat finally getting the recognition he deserves.

The 26-year-old from Harare stands just 1.7m tall, at 5ft 7in, barely two inches taller than Lionel Messi, who needed growth hormone therapy. But Billiat has long been a talent as impressive in Southern Africa as Leo was in Argentina at half his age.

A product of the local Aces Academy in Harare, Billiat left CAPS United before he even played a professional game, spotted by the Ajax scouting network in Cape Town. He played 83 games for the club, scoring 21 goals alongside another huge talent, Thulani Serero.

But while Serero went off to Amsterdam, Billiat tried out with Lokomotiv in Moscow before accepting a new post closer to home: he went to Mamelodi Sundowns in 2013 for a reported fee of R10m, still a PSL record.

And when Pitso Mosimane arrived to steady the Masandawana ship, Billiat began to thrive. He scored 8 goals in 2014-15 and 12 last season as Sundowns broke the Stuart Baxter/Kaizer Chiefs stranglehold on the championship twice in the last three seasons.

While a huge fuss is being made of team-mate Keagan Dolly - Sundowns were allowed to push his contracted buy-out from around R10m to over R20m by the PSL’s Dispute Resolution Chamber - there can be little question Billiat is the bigger deal.

After a fantastic start to AFCON 2017 against Algeria - he ran out of steam a little in the second half in Franceville - Billiat was the talk of the tournament.

Two fantastic runs saw him denied only by the goalkeeper, but it was a peach of a volley midway through the first half - which damn nearly broke the crossbar - that provided the perfect Billiat moment.

Sammy Kuffour, the sometimes comic SuperSport analyst, was shaken in to coherence. He said: “Billiat is the complete player. He has pace. He is small so you don’t know what to do with him. He should be in Europe already. I’d love to see him at a big club. He is a great African talent.”

Of course, Sundowns could probably get the DRC to block any potential admirers as the European clubs queue up after AFCON, where the scouts flock like flies.

But in truth, like Dolly, Billiat should have been gone ages ago. There is talk of disciplinary problems - he was late to arrive at the Zimbabwe pre-Afcon camp - and he certainly has a comfortable life in Tshwane.

But after winning the PSL twice and the African Champions League this season, any further dalliance would be pointless.

Sundowns did all they could do delay Bongani Zungu’s move to Portugal. They’re doing the same to Dolly. Compatriot Knowledge Musona has already advised Billiat to escape his Gauging comfort zone.

The player himself says: "I would love to go and play in Europe but I will see. If I don't go to Europe I am still happy at Sundowns.”

That’s not enough. Football is a short career. Sundowns fans won’t like it, but Khama, it’s time to make the leap of faith. Faith in your own ability.

GOODBYE DOLLY! Why South Africa's shining talent must go to Europe, before it's too late

SOUTH AFRICA'S BEST PLAYER: Keagan Dolly

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born on February 5, 1992. He has won 75 international caps for Brazil and scored 50 goals for his country.

Keagan Larenzo Dolly was born on January 22, 1993. He has played 4 times for South Africa and scored two memorable goals against Gambia last year.

Neymar Jnr, born in Mori Das Cruzes near Sao Paulo, played for Santos in his home nation until the age of 21 when he finally accepted Barcelona’s advances.

Dolly, born in Westbury near Johannesburg, played for Ajax Cape Town before moving to Mamelodi Sundowns. Nearly 24 (the same age as Neymar), he was transferred for a reported R6m, has had offers of R10m from Europe, and now finds himself unable to move overseas.

Like Neymar before he left Brazil, Dolly has won just about everything domestically. League, both cups and this season, the African Champions League.

The crowning glory came just last week when Keagan was named in the CAF Africa XI ahead of Arsenal’s uber talented Alex Iwobi, who was named as a substitute.

Curiously, though his €750,000 buy-out clause has been met by both French club Montpellier and Greek giants Olympiacos, Dolly remains in South Africa with his coach Pitso Mosimane - last week voted Africa’s Coach of the year - saying “Keagan could do with another season in the PSL.”

In the same breath, Mosimane admits: “If Dolly gets the chance to go overseas, then he must go.”

All very confusing for Dolly, who should have won at least 30 Bafana Bafana caps in his short career, not to mention a move to Europe three years ago, if South African football REALLY wanted local youngsters to thrive internationally.

But a combination of the now-defunct Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba’s bizarre national selection policies and the PSL’s Dispute Resolution Chamber are denying Dolly the chance to be South Africa’s Neymar.

After his debut against Sudan in 2014, Mashaba chose to leave Dolly behind until close to  the end of his disastrous AFCON 2017 qualification failure. The DRC? They chose to allow Sundowns to change the buy-out clause on the contract he signed in 2015 - and new deal the PSL insisted on as there were “registration problems” when Dolly went back to his old club Ajax Cape Town on loan.

The DRC chose to accept Sundowns claim that they had “made a mistake” with the buy-out clause in Dolly’s new contract, effectively rendering all future PSL contracts disputable. A lamentable decision.

Has any other business EVER been allowed to claim they “blundered” on a signed contract? What would Masanadawana’s Champions League rivals think if they thought Dolly’s contract was not worth the paper it was written on?

In fact, Sundowns altered the eight sentences of the buy-out clause NINE times before Dolly was brought in - without his representatives - to sign a new five-year deal in August 2015. Sundowns were aware of every word in the new contract, they demanded it. They got it.

The old contract demanded a £1.5m buy-out, which is now the fee which will have to be met by and new suitors following Dolly’s Africa XI selection.

Effectively his value - thanks to an incredible DRC decision - has risen from R10m to R22m which would be a modern South African record equal to the £1.5m record paid by Bournemouth for Malmo’s Tokelo Rantie three years ago. And we all know how that ended.

With South Africa languishing at 60 in the FIFA rankings, no English club would approach that figure - especially with Dolly failing to play anywhere near the required 80 percent of South Africa’s competitive fixtures over the past two years. A work permit is out of the question for any South African right now. At any price.

Many said Neymar’s move to Europe came a little late at 20. Dolly is nearly 24. And unless somebody looks long and hard at the PSL’s DRC - who also found against Siboniso Pa Gaxa when Kaizer Chiefs had actually tweeted about his "until 2018" contract - South Africa’s brightest star is unlikely to achieve is full potential.

What next? An appeal to SAFA and even the international Court of Arbitration for Sport. Expensive. Disruptive. Not recommended.

So here’s the verdict from one who is not frightened to speak out against corruption and injustice: the DRC are not a fair, objective body fit to judge on player contracts.

With the same people representing Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns as well as the PSL against players, justice is currently unavailable. The DRC is, as we like to say in South Africa, “captured”. 

Dolly has won all he is likely to win at Sundowns. Even if he goes overseas, the new South African coach, if he’s sensible and not guided by sinister forces like Mashaba, will have no choice but to pick South Africa’s brightest “young” talent (some would consider 24 middle-aged in football terms).

Dolly has nothing to lose. He has already had to foot a mammoth R200,000 legal bill in an unsuccessful attempt to set himself free. Remarkable that, given it was Sundowns who admitted to making the contractual “error”.

With at least two fresh bids on the table following the DRC’s bizarre decision, my advice Keagan? Go to Greece, France or wherever the footballing road takes you. South Africa doesn’t have a single player (barring the veteran Steven Pienaar at Sunderland) in any of the big leagues.

That hasn’t happened for years. It’s time for Keagan Dolly to make the break. Before it’s too late.

IT'S THE ENDO THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: Sundowns dreams shot down in Japan

AT FAULT: Mamelodi Sundowns Ugandan
goalkeeper Denis Onyango

FOR a delirious 45 minutes on Saturday, KaboYellow fans had every right to believe they were headed to a glorious final against mighty Real Madrid at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. Then came 45 minutes of heartbreak, a second half exposing all that is wrong with South Africa football.

The first half at the Suita City stadium was a dream. Percy Tau was rampant, Khama Billiat had a couple of chances - one from all of four yards on the slide - and Pitso Mosimane looked secure in his Champions of Africa castle with the big back door.

Hitoshi Sogahata was the villain of the piece for Sundowns, who had NINE shots to Kashima’s NIL in those fantastic first 45 minutes. Bizarrely, FIFA had captioned the scoreline “ZSC” for Masandawana (obviously they thought Egyptians Zamalek had made it!) and didn’t correct in to “SUN” until the 2nd half… and by then, the fantasy was fading.

Sogahata, who has played all his life at the Antlers, is a mature 37, he’s played four times for Japan since 1998 but 462 times for his club. Three great saves kept Sundowns goalless, and then there was THAT miss from the usually lethal Zimbabwean Billiat, who put Tau’s excellent cross wide from inside the small box.

MISTAKE! Sundowns were dubbed "ZSC"
throughout the first half by FIFA

At half-time, optimism was sweeping the nation. With the game on SABC thanks to StarSat’s last-minute climb-down on exclusive coverage, the social networks were buzzing. Pitso was a genius. Tau was a lion, Dolly was more popular than Barbie. Onyango hadn't been tested in goal.

But from the first touch of the second half, the Antlers showed the value of a good team talk, and a touch of tactical acumen.

With their wing-backs tucking in, the midfield was reclaimed by the Japanese, Pitso might have seen it before me but he didn’t react. Not until THE ENDO OF THE WORLD, with Yasushi Endo picking up a Mu Kawasaki cross and beating Sundowns’ keeper Denis Onyango.

When I say it beat him, it wasn’t a pretty sight. The Uganda player of the year and PSL goalkeeper of the season made a hash of the close-range shot, it wriggled out from underneath his writhing body and was actually put in by his own hand/head reflex movement.

Shocking, particularly with Sogahata producing a near-perfect 90 minutes at the other end.

CORRECTED! But Sundowns went in to
 a serious decline in the second half

But there was worse to come. Pitso finally threw on Zwane, but it was already too late. Then came Liberian striker Antoine Laffour when Sundowns appeared to finally realise they had to score to survive.

But there was no great urgency. No radical change of shape. The Antlers had Sundowns by the horns. In a dramatic reverse of the first half, Sundowns barely mustered a threat on goal.

And when Kanazaki added a goal of his own with the Downs defense all over the place, the sinking feeling became titanic. All the shortcomings of South African football had been ruthlessly exposed. Poor finishing, late changes, lack of fitness, tired defending and we’ll have to say it again POOR FINISHING.

We got the usual afterwards from Pitso Mosimane, whose PSL and African champions are starting to develop a habit of inconsistency in recent weeks.  

Clearly unhappy, the post-match interview was mercifully short: “We played very well against a very good team. Obviously you could see our finishing was not very good in the first half. They took their chances and we didn’t.

“Disappointed? What do you mean? It’s football. We are professionals. For us it’s a very good learning curve. They passed very well.

“We are learning, we did well, we just couldn’t finish.”

And captain Hlompho Kekana, who simply disappeared in the second half, basically respected his coach: “If we’d taken one of the chances we’d created, the game would've changed. We must take lesson out of this game.”

Lessons? Learning curves? No. The FIFA Club World Cup doesn’t come along regularly for South African football. We needed clinical finishing, decisive substitutions, a solid goalkeeper.

But hey, at least they got to Japan. They play Korea's Jeonbuk on Wednesday morning in a 5th/6th play-off game that could earn the players plenty to add to their African Champions League bonus.

FIFA are offering  $1.5m for fifth and $1m for sixth. So the difference is $500,000. R7.5m. Nearly as much as Cape Town City FC won for their Telkom KO victory against SuperSport United on Saturday.

The Antlers go on to play Nacional from Colombia, with Real Madrid likely to be their final opponents. Sundowns didn’t even get close to Cristiano Ronaldo. It's enough to make a weepy nation howl.

WELL HELLO DOLLY: after years of waiting, South Africa finally gets a glimpse of Keagan's genius

DOLLIGHTFUL: Keagan Dolly after his 1st goal in Gambia

I said hello, Dolly, 

Well, hello, Dolly

 It's so nice to have you back

where you belong

You're lookin' swell, Dolly

I can tell, Dolly

You're still glowin'

You're still crowin'

You're still goin' strong

Those are the lyrics of one Louis Armstrong, in a hit single which swept around the world in 1964 after the launch of “Hello Dolly”, the musical of the same name.

I was three at the time but here we are, 52 years later and Keagan Dolly, aged 23, has finally become a hit with South Africa’s national football team.

Dolly, from the same Westbury suburb west of Johannesburg as Everton’s Steven Pienaar, should have been a Bafana Bafana veteran with 30+ caps by now.

But years of non-selection by the agent-manipulated national head coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba meant that his two assists and two fantastic strikes in Gambia on Saturday marked just his SECOND international appearance.

Dolly, who moved from Ajax Cape Town to Mamelodi Sundowns for R7m in 2014, was actually given a debut that year during 3-0 win over Sudan in Omdurman.

Since then, Mashaba has used various excuses to keep South Africa’s finest young player out of the senior squad, ranging from youth, lack of fitness, being on loan at his former club Ajax Cape Town, and - infamously - refusing to pick Keagz for the AFCON 2017 clashes against Cameroon this year “because he is involved in the U23 friendly in Brazil”.

While Rivaldo Coetzee, three years younger, was consistently selected despite obvious failings, Dolly was persistently ignored despite his progress in the PSL with Pitso's Masandawana.

That glaring omission came back to haunt Shaky on Saturday. Dolly, rampaging down the left, made two goals for low-scoring Orlando Pirates striker Thami Gabuza before thumping home two of his own from outside the box. Imagine, we asked, if Dolly had played in all the Group M qualifiers? Would that left foot have been the difference against Cameroon?

It was Dolly’s day. So much so that it’s hard to imagine him returning to PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns after the Rio Olympics, he is surely bound for a European apprenticeship in September.

CHAMPION: Keagan Dolly in action for Sundowns

Amid the bizarre suggestions that this was some stroke of Mashaba genius or that we had suddenly found a superhero, the more enlightened Bafana fans recognised the record 4-0 away win in Bakau for what it was: too little, too late for our boys.

Dolly himself said: "There’s more to come, watch this space!

“This has been some year for me. I have won lots of things, selected for major awards and now being called for the national team and do this.

“It gives me a wonderful feeling but I want to continue working hard so that I repay the faith my coaches have placed on me.

“The coach told me to shoot when I am within range and I did exactly that in the second half and the rest as they say, is history.

“With the team leading 2-0 and cruising, I told myself ‘give it a go’ and boy I have never felt so good.

“My career is really blossoming but will continue to work hard, keep my feet grounded and put more effort in whatever I do.”

The sky appears to be the limit now for Dolly as Sundowns head in to the group stages of the African Champions League by default and Bafana prepare for COSAFA and the Olympics.

But soon the World Cup draw will outline the way ahead for South African football, where Dolly will become the central figure in Bafana’s plans.

It matters not who leads the nation in to those qualifiers, Dolly - and other youngsters ignored despite Danny Jordaan’s now-forgotten Vision 2022 plans - are the future for South Africa football. The nation will insist on a youthful future after Dolly’s heroics, no matter who leads the team.

Though a national coach who picks on form, youth and is capable of understanding modern football would be a major advantage in what promises to be a turbulent road to Russia in 2018.

Fantastic February in December: four penalty saves add much-needed sparkle to a bad year for South African football

Penalty king: Ajax Cape Town's Jody February

JODY FEBRUARY IS NOT A PENALTY SPECIALIST. His words not mine. Like Lionel Messi saying he's not much of a finisher, or Lewis Hamilton doesn't like fast cars.

The 19-year-old goalkeeper, understudy to Finland’s Anssi Jaakkola at Ajax Cape Town, saved a record-equalling FOUR penalties on Saturday as AmaGlugGlug somehow clinched third spot to grab their place at the Rio Olympics next year.

I can’t remember anything like it. Even the late Senzo Meyiwa must be up there somewhere, dancing in delight.

During a frantic 90 minutes, February pulled off a number of saves and somehow kept it to 0-0 as Senegal fired in 25 shots on his goal. But the defining moment came in the 73rd minute, when Jody himself was adjudged to have brought down an on-rushing striker.

February, unruffled, went full-length to his right to deny Moussa Keita a winner from the spot. Senegal followed-up and hit the woodwork but the hosts had to settle for the penalty shoot-out to decide the U23 Afcon third place play-off.

And that’s when February really got going, saving a sensational three out of four.

The first, a firm block to the right to give Bafana's U23 an immediate advantage in the shoot-out. The second, most impressive of all, a flying block to the left. He literally took off. A couple of misses from Bafana Bafana’s nervous lads (Kwanda Ngonyama and Keagan Dolly) meant there was one last miracle to come, a stop with the legs which left Phakamani Mahlambi, our outfield player of the tournament, to slot home the winner for South Africa.

Amid tearful celebrations afterwards, February insisted: “I’m at a loss for words... I am not a penalty specialist, I’m just happy!

“We showed that with passion determination and a lot of sweat we can achieve things as South Africa. This is good start, there are things to come.

“Thanks for all congratulations from back home. I just wanted to contribute to the team.”

Headed for Rio: South Africa's U23s after February's heroics

Coach Owen da Gama, who made a total of 12 changes to the team in five games (two wins, two defeats and a penalty enhanced draw) said: “The players were very motivated as they made history for themselves. We last qualified 15 years ago now we are going to the Olympics again.

“In this tournament we have learnt from all teams. We still haven't played our best football. today we had the mental strength to fight.

“It's not how you start but how you finish. I also think we were lucky. Sorry to Senegal. We were fortunate in this match the boys fought hard and it's clear that the harder you work, the luckier you get.

Back home in Sandton at the SAFA Congress, president Danny Jordaan insisted: “This has been an extraordinary year for our national teams.”

“Wow, what can I say apart from congratulating coach Owen da Gama and the boys. This has been some year for our national teams.

“Now, everyone can see what we mean by Vision 2022 when it comes to preparing winning teams both on the continent and globally.

“We as SAFA have just announced a huge profit of over R40 million at the 25th SAFA Congress on Saturday and now our U23 side has just put the icing on the cake with this marvellous result. Take a bow Owen and the boys.”

But the Mayor of Port Elizabeth is fooling us. In truth, it’s been a dreadful year for South African football. Vera Pauw got our girls to the Olympics too, but there were ridiculous calls for her head before that.

Bronze: the AFCON medal

We go in to 2016 with Bafana BOTTOM of their AFCON 2017 qualifying group, out of CHAN and unquestionably Shaky. Our U17 AmaJimbos, like Shakes Mashaba’s men at AFCON 2015, finished their World Cup with one point. We missed out on the All Africa games and the women's U20 World Cup. The two-legged win over Angola in pre-qualifying for Russia was Bafana's only true success.

Vision 2022 degenerated in to a farce, with veterans and has-beens picked repeatedly by our national head coach as we plunged down the FIFA world rankings.

The truth is Danny, we were LUCKY. But these Under 23s are the future. In the spirit of Vision 2022 at least five of them should have been playing regularly for the senior team.

But we soldier on, a nation rarely capable of getting to the African Champions League group stages, forced to celebrate a rare surge to the second-rate CAF Confederations Cup final this season. A nation held at home by Gambia and beaten in Mauritania.

Cameroon home and away at the end of March will probably confirm our failure to qualify for AFCON 2017 in Gabon, which will give South Africa the chance to appoint a new regime before the World Cup draw in June and the start of group qualifying for Russia 2018 in November.

Hopefully by then, sanity will prevail. Our big guns playing in Europe will be treated fairly. Dolly, Mobara, Mahlambi, Motupa and Masuku - perhaps even Liam Jordan and Jody February - will be the stars. And we’ll stop the continual chopping and changing prompted by rogue agents and poor management.

In fact, let’s make that a New Year resolution.

WELL HELLO DOLLY: What Angola SHOULD be saying when they play South Africa on Saturday

FORM-IDABLE: Dolly makes his Bafana debut v Sudan last year

PICTURE THIS: Saturday in Angola's Benguela Province, South Africa's men in green surging forward with Keagan Dolly and Kermit Erasmus, the PSL's in-form front-runners, leading the crusade for World Cup qualification.

Of course, it ain't gonna happen. But it should.

Even as the pain of his Telkom KO semi-final defeat sunk in on Saturday night, SuperSport United coach Gordon Igesund had time to mention the name on everybody’s lips: Keagan Dolly.

With disappointment written all over his face, the former Bafana Bafana coach knew exactly what he was saying: “The big difference tonight was Dolly. He was fantastic for Sundowns.”

And as Gord’s nemesis Pitso Mosimane celebrated reaching the final against Kaizer Chiefs on December 16 - yes, that’s right, Reconciliation Day - he too grasped that particular nettle: why is 22-year-old Dolly, perhaps South Africa’s best player, consistently ignored by Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba?

Dolly actually made his debut for the senior side against Sudan in AFCON2015 qualifiers last season, but he has been used as an Under 23 player ever since, with some effect. Since that debut he has made the loan-delayed R7m move to Sundowns from Ajax Cape Town and he appears to go from strength to strength despite the leap to Tshwane.

But with the crucial two-legged World Cup qualifiers against Angola coming up in Benguela on Saturday and Durban next Tuesday, Dolly remains out of the Banana squad despite starring for Mosimane’s Sundowns all season.

Shaun Barlett told me on Sunday no discussion has taken place over Dolly’s U23 commitments. What is clear is, Dolly could play against Angola AND participate in the 8-nation Olympic qualifying tournament in Senegal later this month.

On top of all this came Saturday’s news - kept quiet since last Thursday - of Itumeleng Khune’s knee injury which will require surgery this week, putting the Kaizer Chiefs No1 out of Mashaba’s plans.

And it has to be asked: If Tower Mathoho was too sore to take a penalty in the Soweto Derby shoot-out on Saturday, can we expect him to play 90 minutes at the Ombaka Stadium on Saturday?

Up front, Tokelo Rantie made an all-too-brief Premier League debut when he came on as a late substitute for Bournemouth against Newcastle on Saturday. But that hardly compares to the work done by unpicked Kermit Erasmus in the PSL of late.

The idea of going in to the Angola games without the in-form Dolly and Erasmus seems ridiculous for a nation so short on real, young talent. Especially with defensive mainstays Khune and Mathoho in trouble.

The opposition? At 99, they’re ranked below South Africa (75) by FIFA but Angola have a well-funded local league and put Bafana out of CHAN (which is restricted to players from their domestic leagues) just last month. Though Thabo Senong appeared to run the show and they did manage a 2-1 away win after an awful 0-2 home defeat at the Rand Stadium, it's clearly not going to be a cake-walk.

Angola’s home-based players warmed up for the South Africa games with a four-nation tournament against DRC, Zambia and Namibia over the weekend, but they will call on an extra six European-based players for the World Cup qualifiers.

They have their own Dolly - Dolly Menga (Tondela FC of Portugal) - plus Djalma Campos (Genclerbirlije, Turkey), Clinton (Sport Charleroi, Belgium), Buatu (Waasland Beveren, Belgium), former Oldham star Kussunga (now in Switzerland) and Adão (Sion, Switzerland) to add to their homegrown stars.

Mashaba offers defiance: “The last time we beat Angola, you could see that they were not happy at all, they were very uncomfortable with a loss to us.

“They said to us, no we’ll get you next time and even before the CHAN game, their officials said now its payback time and they beat us.

“So this is going to be a very tough game for us against Angola again, so we’ll need strong boys with characters when we get there.” 

But without a win in EIGHT competitive games - the draw in Nigeria then three at AFCON 2015, two at home in the COSAFA Cup and two in AFCON 2017 qualifying - words and friendly results are not enough.

Shakes needs to consider form not old favourites or agent recommendations. The thought of Dolly and Erasmus on the rampage should be foremost in his mind.