Chippa United head coach Kwanele Kopo had plenty of praise for Andile Jali, who got his name on the score sheet on debut during Chippa United's 2-1 defeat to his former club Orlando Pirates.
The Chilli Boys suffered a heartbreaking loss to Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday, which sees them starting the season.
The visitors had opened the scoring through Jali with a neatly-taken half-volley, before Pirates equalised on the stroke of half-time through a Tshegofatso Mabasa penalty.
READ | Pirates' match winner: We didn't give up
Andile Jali adds another spectacular goal to his collection ??
— SuperSport Football ?? (@SSFootball) September 18, 2024
Pirates fans will remember when he used to do this in their colours ????
?? Stream #BetwayPrem on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQWD1K@Betway_za pic.twitter.com/uWozgHCqTg
The second half was as tightly contested and looked destined for a share of the spoils, but the Soweto giants would have the final say as Saleng latched onto a delightful Deon Hotto cross to head home for the winner in the dying minutes.
The build-up to the match had been dominated by the return of Jali to an arena that was once his stomping ground.
There were also doubts about the double treble winner's quality having been out of competitive action since leaving the now-defunct Moroka Swallows in January.
However, despite having to come off at half-time due to a hamstring problem, the veteran had done enough to impress Kopo, who credited his prowess during his post-match press conference.
"He has been massive for the club," Kopo said.
"Since he has joined us, Andile has trained very hard after a couple of months of no [football] activities, at all, you know, having left Swallows in November [2023].
"Since we started training, he has been in the gym an hour before everyone else in the team. He is not 100% yet, but because of the challenges we have in central midfield, we felt that even if he could give us 60 minutes, we were hoping he could give us 60 minutes of his leadership and we knew with him, we would be able to be on the ball more.
"We've got a youngster playing centre-back, he has not played much and we needed Andile to guide and give these youngsters confidence.
"So, Andile is going to play a massive, massive role in the team and I'm so happy for him that he scored because there are many people who would have probably expected the worst.
"So many people thought he would come back overweight and all that, but I think he showed that the quality is there and I think the fitter he gets, the stronger he is going to make us," added the coach.
ALSO READ | Pirates' match winner: We didn't give up
The defeat leave Chippa in 11th spot on the table after the first round of fixtures, but they will have a chance to climb up when hosting Richards Bay FC on Saturday.