Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane was pleased with the showing of debutant Oupa Manyisa and George Lebese, despite their loss against Maritzburg United in the MTN8 quarter-finals.

Masandawana were knocked out of the top-eight competition, courtesy of a stunning strike by Evans Rusike which dampened the debuts of the former Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs midfielders, but Mosimane says he was pleased with their performances.

‘First, on Oupa [Manyisa], on what I saw in the game today is what I thought we will get out of him.’ he told reporters.

‘If you don’t know Sundowns and you’re from outside you will never see anything out of the two players who just joined the team.

‘They just fit like a hand in the glove, that’s why I signed these players, that’s why we opted for these players because you don’t sign just to sign, you have to sign in specific positions,’ he added.

‘Oupa came in as replacement for Teko [Modise]. We need that kind of creativity. He played very well. He took a shot outside the box, as is his speciality, because we always push opponents on the edge of the box.

‘Him and [Hlompho] Kekana are deadly there. He got a good shot, and I think if the ball didn’t deflect a bit, we could be telling a different story,’ he added.

The former Bafana Bafana mentor also revealed that the acquisition of Lebese is seen as a direct replacement for Montpellier winger Keagan Dolly.

‘George [Lebese] plays on the left, the way we play. He fits in very well, he replaces Keagan [Dolly],’ he concluded.

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