Orlando Pirates defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi has opened up on facing the likes of Lucas Ribeiro, Iqraam Rayners, and Peter Shalulile in the 2-1 win over Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Soweto giants kept their title hopes alive with an all-important victory over rivals and log leaders Sundowns at FNB Stadium on Sunday.
Relebohile Mofokeng netted an early brace, with Khuliso Mudau reducing the deficit in the 66th minute.
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Pirates coach Jose Riveiro bravely opted for a back three that included 19-year-old Mbokazi.
In addition to keeping star man Lucas Ribeiro relatively quiet, the former DStv Diski Challenge star delivered a solid performance alongside Nkosinathi Sibisi and Tapelo Xoki, and it came as little surprise when he was awarded the Man of the Match award.
The encounter was the first time in five consecutive games that Ribeiro could not register a goal or an assist having gone into Sunday's encounter with four goals and one assist from his previous four league appearances.
These are the kind of numbers that have placed him in the conversation for PSL Footballer of the Season.
"Marking those players, even as a kid, I have always wished to come up against players that are better established than me, to get the experience.
"Luckily for me, I came up against these guys and decided that let me also show what I can do, let me try and mark them and see what could cause me to fail if I were to mark them.
"And true enough, I was able to mark them and showed what I can do," said Mbokazi post-match.
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He also gave plenty of credit to the men alongside him, in Sibisi and Xoki.
"Playing alongside 'TP' (Xoki) and Nkosinathi has already taught me a lot. They are older than me and have more experience. They are constantly telling me to relax and not worry about mistakes and that they will cover me if I make a mistake.
"When you play with someone who gives you that kind of permission, it also makes you more confident. You know that even if a mistake happens, he will cover for me because he has more experience," he revealed.