Ngele, Modise key driving forces

MQONDISI DUBE
Staff Writer | Friday June 8, 2012 00:00

 

Both did not have much say as their sides struggled for fluency in the last matches. Ngele only recovered from injury this week and sat out the Central African Republic match, which the Zebras lost 2-0, while Modise came on in the last 17 minutes of the drawn match against Ethiopia.The two players have the skill to change the direction of a match. Ngele can play behind strikers, and so can Modise who just returned to form in the last league campaign after two horrendous years, which threatened his international career. The young Ngele has the power to curl a sweet dead ball with his left foot and so does Modise who has a handful of goals from his right boot. The two can move off the ball beautifully and have the ability of producing defence-splitting passes once in possession.

Modise is at the pinnacle of his career, while Ngele is just blossoming. The South African might be regarded a late bloomer, but Ngele hit the ground running while still a fresh faced Naledi Senior Secondary School student. Ngele is probably the next best thing to happen to Botswana football since a boyish looking Diphetogo 'Dipsy' Selolwane chose the COSAFA Cup match against South Africa to shine in 1999. Modise has been up there and won individual accolades, but found breaking into the European market a tough task. He has had to contend with playing at home as his career moves into the twilight zone. While he had been prepared for the landfill, Modise defied his critics with fresh performances for Mamelodi Sundowns, which landed him the captaincy. But while the 'Navigator' was enjoying his place in the sun, Ngele was not to be outdone with a purple patch of his own. He proved to Africa that he was ready for the big occasion with a defiant performance in Zebras' 2-1 defeat to Mali in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals. It therefore did not come as a surprise when the lanky youngster landed a professional contract at Platinum Stars in the same Premiership Modise struts his stuff.If given a chance in tomorrow's big match, the two are likely to be the trump cards.