Former Orlando Pirates defender Alfred Ndengane was the recipient of some lavish praise from his interim coach David Mathebula after coming into his own at Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila.
Ndengane joined the Polokwane-based outfit at the start of the campaign after being deemed surplus to requirements at Orlando Pirates, where he spent two seasons.
This season the 34-year-old has shown tremendous leadership abilities for the PSL newcomers as they look to fight possible relegation, while going in search of Nedbank Cup glory.
With three goals in 19 appearances this season, Ndengane's performances in a TTM shirt shows that perhaps Pirates' loss was Tshakhuma's gain.
His coach Mathebula, who along with Mpho Maleka have been tasked with leading Tshakhuma to safety, has hailed Ndengane's contribution to the team after picking up a host of Man of the Match awards.
"When it comes to Ali, he is a leader, he is a fighter and he played at the highest level and I mean you mention Thabo Mnyamane, I'll mention Ndengane and we can keep mentioning them one-by-one but that's a sign of improvement from these individuals in terms of performances and that is why our team is getting stronger and stronger all the time," Mathebula told the media.
Ndengane once again managed to get onto the scoresheet after slotting home a penalty as TTM managed to overcome Black Leopards to reach the Nedbank Cup semi finals.
View the 22 players unveiled by TTM this season:
