‘Give him the armband’, fans on Bongokuhle Hlongwane 

Bafana Bafana star Bongokuhle Hlongwane turned on a man-of-the-match performance, earning himself plaudits from the club’s fans on Sunday morning.

Hlongwane scored the only goal as his MLS side, Minnesota United, played a 1-1 draw against New York Red Bulls at Allianz Field. It was his first for the season.

FANS REACT TO BONGOKUHLE HLONGWANE’S PERFORMANCE

John Gerlach commented on the club’s tweet: “Bongi looks stronger than he did last season. He played a more physical match tonight.”

Gerlach’s observation is similar to what many South Africans noted when Hlongwane played two international friendly matches in November last year.

Hlongwane struck twice as Bafana beat Mozambique, despite having come from a long lay-off.

The most interesting reaction, though, came from a South African tweep – Daxakile Dixi – who said the 22-year-old forward must be given the armband. “Give him the armband,” Dixi wrote.

Hlongwane, a darling to the Minnesota faithful, is in his second season with the club after joining them from Maritzburg United last season.

He had a largely impressive season last term and has made it clear he wants to do better this season. The speedy winger played a total number of 30 games across all the competitions and weighed in with five assists, and scored two goals in the process. 

The club, on its Instagram page, posted the South African international’s celebration, with the caption: ‘Do the Bongi’.

SALT AND SHOVELS

Before the game, it was salt and shovels at Allianz Field with non-stop snow, which presented a challenge for the team to prepare and play through the flying flakes. 

Hlongwane will play one more game against Colorado next weekend before flying out to join his Bafana teammates.

South Africa take on Liberia in a two-legged AFCON qualifier, which will be decisive on whether they qualify for the next edition of the finals.

Hugo Broos, the Bafana mentor, has previously expressed happiness over the talented forward’s progress in the MLS. He looks likely to play a big role for Bafana in the qualifiers.

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