AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin says that new signing Ben Motshwari did not debut on Monday as the midfielder’s fitness level needs to improve.
Motshwari was an unused substitute as AmaZulu FC played out a 0-0 draw against Polokwane City in a DStv Premiership game.
On the other hand, Taariq Fielies, also a new signing at Usuthu, made his first appearances for the club against PLK City and was impressed as he was named Man of the Match.
Motshwari and Fielies joined AmaZulu just before the September 2023 transfer window shut down. Motshwari peened a deal with the KZN side from Orlando Pirates, while Fielies joined from Cape Town City.
Motshwari lacks match fitness as he missed the opening few games of the new season while at Pirates, while Fielies played for CT City.
MOTSHWARI’S FITNESS LEVEL NEEDS TO IMPROVE, SAYS FRANCO MARTIN
“The situation is different because even if Ben trained with the team a little longer than Taariq, his problem is he has [less] game time,” said Franco Martin.
“His fitness level is inferior to the one that Fielies showed us in the previous training sessions. From there, we were planning. And I wished I could have given him some game time because we wanted to help him get fitter and fitter.
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“But we couldn’t because of the situation of the game. And we thought it was not the right moment to risk him. Let’s see if in the next game he can get his game time because, the same as I said with Fielies, he is a player who is going to help us,” he added.
Motshwari will be looking to make his debut when AmaZulu play Moroka Swallows in their next league assignment on Friday at the Dobsonville Stadium.