Mamelodi Sundowns legend Hlompho Kekana has reacted to head coach Miguel Cardoso's early substitution of Sphelele Mkhulise, who was linked with an exit from the club.
Usually, coaches don't want to risk affecting the confidence of a player by making a tactical change early in the game, and therefore choose to wait at least until half-time to react to situations.
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However, Cardoso made a bold change eight minutes before the interval against Golden Arrows on Sunday, as he withdrew Mkhulise for tactical reasons and brought on Peter Shalulile.
The latter made an immediate impact, as he won a penalty for the side, who went to the break with a 1-0 lead after the spot-kick was converted by Lucas Ribeiro Costa.
He eventually scored a brace in the second stanza as the Tshwane giants ran away with a 4-0 victory.
"I saw the reaction when the coach made that sub of Mkhulise and I loved it. I love it because he put more firepower up front because he saw that we don't have a problem with combination play," Kekana said on the Pitchside Podcast.
"He saw it and I was like: 'This is coaching'. I love it when I come to the stadium and watch teams that have solutions for other problems. I was happy because we didn't have any problem of retaining possession. Even when we lost it, we had players around to win it back.
"When they put Peter, it's a different story because he's a different character. I was happy to see that reaction and a positional shift for Ribeiro, (Kobamelo) Kodisang, (Iqraam) Rayners. Selflessness. That reaction, 20 minutes towards half-time, players realised that actually we dragged the match too long, we need to get a goal.
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"In a space of two minutes, there was an offside that I don't think was offside. When we got a penalty, it was a (culmination) of those attacks into the box," detailed the former midfielder.
The early change of Mkhulise, however, could come at the cost of the 28-year-old being further unsettled at the club after the Portuguese coach suggested last week that he was one of the players who requested to leave during the January transfer window for game time elsewhere.
Cardoso, however, added they are happy to have the player now that the window has shut.