Dream debut for Gavin Hunt and Tshegofatso Mabasa as Stellenbosch sink Sekhukhune

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New beginnings don’t come as dreamy as the ones enjoyed by Stellenbosch FC newcomers, coach Gavin Hunt and striker Tshegofatso Mabasa, on Tuesday night as they saw to the club’s 1–0 victory at Sekhukhune United.

Both handed a new lease on their illustrious careers which had hit a snag lately, the multiple championship-winning tactician and the former Premiership top scorer sent a message to their new employers that they are far from reaching their sell-by date. They are, of course, the ones tasked with taking the club out of the doldrums.

Hunt, a Capetonian, returned home to the Mother City after a short-lived stay in KwaZulu-Natal with Durban City where he and club boss Farook Kadodia did not see eye-to-eye. He was only too glad to respond to an SOS from the Cape Winelands outfit, who have had arguably their worst start to a campaign since their promotion to the elite league.

An uninformed observer would not have believed that Stellies finished third last season, such was their poor showing prior to the December break, during which they won just three of their 14 matches and sat in 14th spot.

Hunt has replaced Steve Barker, who joined Tanzanian club Simba SC. On the strength of last night’s showing, Stellies CEO Rob Benadie will feel he has made the right decision, early as it might be to judge.

Both the CEO and coach will probably high-five each other for having secured the services of Mabasa, the 2023/24 Premiership top scorer, whose goal ensured they returned from Polokwane three points richer.

Hunt is among the Premiership era’s most successful coaches with four league titles. While he has had it rough in recent seasons, he vehemently disagrees with the notion he is past his best.

The Stellies gig, which will also take him into continental football — a sphere he has previously seemed to dislike — provides him with a brilliant opportunity to silence those who say his time is up.

It could well be a tall ask to expect him to take Stellies to their usual top-three finish, but that is probably the best way for him to show he has still got it.

Mabasa, on the other hand, must be feeling hard done by by Orlando Pirates, who iced him out for most of this and the past season as he edged close to overtaking Benedict Vilakazi as the Buccaneers’ all-time leading scorer. He was just nine goals behind “Tso’s” 52 strikes, and there can be no denying he would have long eclipsed that had he been used even sparingly.

He has found a new home now and will surely do his best to prove he is not just a good club player, but a worthy candidate for Hugo Broos’s Bafana Bafana. Mabasa has openly shared his dream of playing in the World Cup. With Bafana Bafana having been as sharp as a butter knife at the recently completed Africa Cup of Nations, bet on Mabasa to stake his claim for a ticket to Mexico and the US in June.

And all the while, Stellies will be benefiting.