Benni McCarthy admits that Cape Town City miss the influence of former captain and PSL Footballer of the Season, Lebogang Manyama.

The Citizens put an end to their five-game winless streak in the league with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against AmaZulu last Friday night, however, McCarthy admitted that his side’s lack of creativity in the final third should be addressed.

‘Nobody is really looking to take the initiative,’ McCarthy told Sport24.

‘We tried to play – we tried to use the experience and intelligence of Aubrey Ngoma; we tried to get Aubrey to play in the pockets of space so that we could get behind the organised AmaZulu defence.

‘It was particularly this aspect which Manyama was very good at exploiting. Now, though, everybody wants the ball at their feet, but nobody is making the runs behind the defence.

‘While we got the win in the end, I thought a few of my players didn’t really pitch up, and that is why we struggled,’ he added.

The all-time Bafana Bafana top goalscorer did, however, draw some positives from their victory against Usuthu, citing the impacts of midfielders Lyle Lakay and Teko Modise.

‘Look, with Victor Obinna and Aubrey [Ngoma], who have just come back from long injuries, the plan was always to get them off, irrespective of how the game was going.

‘Last week, they played about 50 minutes, and this time I gave them about 60 minutes.

‘But I have to say the subs were very positive. Lyle Lakay, and then Teko Modise was able to play the passes in behind, and Nana Akosah-Bempah was just a breath of fresh air. He was fearless, and that was where the goal came from. So I’m happy with the replacements,’ he concluded.

City will be hoping for another win when they face log-leaders Mamelodi Sundowns tonight at the Loftus Versveld Stadium with kickoff set for 19:30.

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