Cape Times E-dition

Lekay looking to make an instant impact at City

ESHLIN VEDAN

eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za

CAPE Town City have been one of the early season shocks so far this season. City enter tomorrow’s Cape derby against Stellenbosch FC at the bottom of the Premiership standings after having lost three out of their four games to date.

After finishing second in the league last season, not many would have expected Eric Tinkler’s team to start off the new campaign with such woeful performances. City can however still turn things around if they start off by beating Stellenbosch this weekend. A win against their local rivals will also be morale boosting as it will come against an in-form side who are unbeaten in 11 games, dating back to last season.

One City player who will be looking to make a quick impact is centre-forward Wayde Lekay. The 25-yearold returned to the province of his birth his week after having joined City from TS Galaxy.

“I’m excited to join a team in my home town. I can contribute a lot in terms of scoring and creating goals. I would like to help take us out of this position and also help the club be strong in continental football in the Caf Champions League. I’m happy to be joining and am excited for the new journey,” said Lekay.

Now at 25, the time is right for Lekay to improve his game as he enters the peak of his years as a player. It does appear that Tinkler has a lot of faith in him. Lekay was not the most prolific player in the top flight for Galaxy last season, as he only scored four goals and contributed one assist in 17 games.

However, at City, there will be hope that he can improve in a new environment, in front of the surroundings where he grew up.

Stellenbosch remain unbeaten in their four games this season and can take positives from their displays. Steve Barker’s side have continued to play a solid brand of football even though they have been affected by injuries and the departures of key players such as Zitha Kwinika, Ashley Du Preez, Nathan Sinkala and Stanley Dimgba.

On the other hand, City could be impacted by the blow of losing goalkeeper Hugo Marques. Marques, a former FC Porto youth player, was heroic for Tinkler’s side last season. He won the PSL Goalkeeper of the Season award and was a key reason the team finished second and qualified for the Champions League.

Marques has since resurfaced at Angolan club Petro de Luanda. His departure was likely unexpected considering its timing. Tinkler has since said that the reason for the departure was due to the player’s choice for personal reasons.

Darren Keet will step in Marques’ shoes. The veteran goalkeeper started the club’s draw against Maritzburg United and has the potential to re-establish himself as one of the best keepers in South Africa.

However, he will have to regain match fitness quickly, considering that he has not played much in the past three years and was blighted by injuries last season, which caused him to miss out on the majority of the campaign.

THE XFILES

en-za

2022-08-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://capetimes.pressreader.com/article/281887302099441

African News Agency