AmaZulu boss Arthur Zwane warns against relying on ‘prolific’ Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya

AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane has warned that his side could face serious problems if they continue to rely so heavily on Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya for goals, particularly after the Zimbabwean forward appeared to struggle with cramp during their 5-2 defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns.

Ngwenya has made an impressive start to the season, scoring five goals in four Betway Premiership matches and adding two more in the MTN8. His total of seven goals in all competitions has placed him among the early contenders in the Golden Boot race.

However, Zwane is concerned about the consequences should the 24-year-old be forced out of the team again through injury.

Ngwenya missed approximately two-and-a-half months of last season after suffering an injury, an absence Zwane believes had a significant impact on AmaZulu’s campaign. The striker’s importance was underlined once more on Wednesday, when he scored both of his side’s goals at Loftus Versfeld despite their heavy defeat by Sundowns.

Zwane welcomed Ngwenya’s scoring form but said AmaZulu’s other attacking players must accept greater responsibility.

“It’s good to see him scoring goals. The only concern is that it can’t be only him who scores for us. Others also need to take responsibility. You can’t rely on him, because if he gets injured again, then we’re going to have a problem,” said Zwane.

The coach’s concerns were heightened when Ngwenya appeared to feel the effects of the demanding match late on.

“We’re just hoping that Thando will be available for selection all the time. You must have seen that towards the end of the game [against Sundowns], he started cramping, and that was a warning sign for us,” Zwane added.

AmaZulu had begun the campaign positively before losing to Mamelodi Sundowns, winning two, drawing one and losing one of their first four league matches. Zwane does not want that promising start to disguise the lack of depth currently available in attack.

He acknowledged that resting Ngwenya is difficult because several of the club’s other forwards are still returning to full fitness after missing pre-season.

“Sometimes you want to take him out, but you look at who can give you goals. We don’t have another prolific striker like him at the moment. We do have others, but they’re still coming back because they missed pre-season.”

Zwane also reflected on the effect Ngwenya’s injury had last season, when AmaZulu needed him most. The forward had already scored six goals before being sidelined and, according to his manager, could have had a considerably higher total.

“There’s no doubt about it. Even last season, if you check, if he had not got the injury, I think he was going to help us big time. Unfortunately, he missed about two and a half months of the season when we needed him the most,” he said.

“And he was already on six goals. He also had a lot of one-on-ones earlier on in the season that he didn’t take. I even said to them last season, before he got injured, he could have easily been on 12, if not 14 [goals] already.”

Ngwenya’s current form has been one of the main positives of AmaZulu’s season so far, but Zwane believes the club must find more scoring options to avoid becoming vulnerable if their leading striker is unavailable.