Jesse Donn may only be 22, but taking the lead has been a quality that has been thrust upon him so early in his SuperSport United career.
The Cape Town-born star made his PSL debut in a 3-0 win over Chippa United in January 2020 when he came on as a second-half substitute.
Christened the new Dean Furman at the Tshwane side, his output has mirrored that of the club’s former skipper. Understandably so, he credits the former Bafana Bafana captain, Furman, and Teboho Mokoena for guiding him.
With Mokoena also gone to neighbouring Mamelodi Sundowns, while Sipho Mbule is out on suspension for ‘disrespect’, Donn has taken the responsibility to lead in the youthful SuperSport dressing room.
“We don’t have many senior players, so it’s a great opportunity for us to step up,” he said ahead of Friday’s Nedbank Cup quarterfinal against TTM in Limpopo.
“I’d like to thank Tebza and Dean for their role in my development. They guided me, and they put in a lot of effort to make sure I grew into the player I am today.”
While his position is still primarily as a six, Jesse Donn has scored two goals this season, often making forays upfront to add numbers to SuperSport’s attack.
“I’ve since realised with conversations in the team and with the coach that in the absence of Tebza, we need someone to step up and go forward. Although I don’t consider myself an attacking player, I’ve been getting into positions where I can score and can be a threat. If you’re in the box, there’s a chance you could score,” he said.
SuperSport coach Kaitano Tembo believes he will mature with each passing game.
“He will try harder and get better the more he plays. I think he has done that; I am quite happy with his progress because he was an understudy to Dean Furman. He learned a lot from playing alongside someone like that and Yeye [Reneilwe Letsholonyane]. Jesse is already one of our more experienced players; he forms the team’s spine,” Tembo said.
As Matsatsantsa face TTM on Friday night [19h00] at the Thoyohandou Stadium, Jesse Donn warned his teammates that they could only underestimate the GladAfrica Championship side at their own peril.
“We “re a team that prides themselves on being a good cup team, but we haven’t a cup in a while now, so we’re hungry to win the Nedbank Cup,” he said.
“We won’t underestimate TTM. They have already beaten a DStv Premiership side [Golden Arrows]; they are a team that is capable of winning the game, which means it’s so important how we approach this game away in Venda.
“We “re confident that if we go there with the same hunger and fight, we can get the win that we need.”
SuperSport will have to do without suspended forward Thamsanqa Gabuza when they play TTM.
