Siwelele FC coach Godfrey Mosoetsa has given his honest assessment of striker Zakhele Lepasa following his second-half appearance against Kaizer Chiefs in the Carling Knockout Cup on Sunday night.
Mosoetsa’s men suffered a 2-1 defeat to Amakhosi in their Carling quarter-final clash at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. The result saw Fernando Da Cruz’s side advance to the semi-finals, where they will face Mamelodi Sundowns.
Lepasa had been sidelined since the start of the 2026/27 Betway Premiership campaign due to injury setbacks before making his long-awaited first appearance for Siwelele on October 30. He came off the bench during their 3-2 league defeat against Marumo Gallants at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng.
Against Chiefs, the experienced frontman was introduced in the 76th minute to replace Sphesihle Jeza, clocking approximately 18 minutes of action, including stoppage time, as Siwelele searched for an equaliser. He squandered a glorious late chance to equalise following a Chiefs defensive blunder, fluffing his effort with only the goalkeeper to beat.
GODFREY MOSOETSA ON LEPASA’S PROGRESS AT SIWELELE FC
Speaking to the media in Polokwane after the final whistle, Mosoetsa asked for patience regarding the former Orlando Pirates forward, emphasising that the technical team is gradually easing him into match fitness.
“You know, with Lepasa, he hasn’t played much. He only started playing last week when we played against Marumo Gallants, where he played for only six minutes. Today [Sunday], it was something like 25 minutes. So, gradually, we are integrating him into the setup,” Mosoetsa said.
“It’s not easy when you haven’t played for quite some time, and you come to play against a team that’s already played so many games, with some of their players having played about nine or 10 games, and this is his second game.
“So, he will struggle a little bit. But we know what he’s capable of. Hopefully, with time, we will get to see the Lepasa that we all know, and then it will work in our favour in the future.”
Siwelele will now shift focus back to their domestic league campaign after the FIFA international break, as they look to integrate Lepasa into their starting line-up over the coming weeks.
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