Njabulo Blom’s mentor, Bradley Carnell, has explained why he turned to the Bafana Bafana international to change the game against MLS side Minnesota United.
Blom’s side, St Louis City, locked horns with Bongokuhle Hlongwane’s side, Minnesota, in the MLS in the early hours of Sunday, 2 April.
However, unlike Hlongwane, Blom started the game on the bench as he was out for two weeks prior to that and is still regaining his fitness.
WHY BLOM WAS OUT FOR TWO WEEKS
The 23-year-old was out for two weeks due to COVID-19, which forced him to pull out from the Bafana Bafana squad.
The former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder only made his return last week, when he featured for a few minutes.
During the two weeks Blom was out, his side, St Louis, kept their winning momentum and extended their winning streak to five games.
However, this weekend, Hlongwane’s side came in firing and ready to end their winning streak.
The pressure that Minnesota was exerting on St Louis caused threats to their defence.
This forced Carnell to turn to his bench and bring on the former Bafana international player in the 59th minute of the game. He also changed his tactics.
CARNELL ON WHY HE TURNED TO NJABULO BLOM
“It was a little bit of pressure on our back line,” said Carnell to a US publication, Our Sports Central.
“We just thought we needed the security of one extra six, and that’s why Njabulo came in the game. We just try to create some good moments in the transition.
The South African coach continued: “We try to still keep numbers in the box, and we try to still squeeze the game without losing the game.
“We didn’t want to expose ourselves, and we thought the structure that we went to would help us in these certain moments,” concluded Carnell.
Unfortunately, his side lost 1-0 at home for the first time this season.
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