Orlando Pirates midfielder Fortune Makaringe says South Africa needs to grow as a nation, in response to some of the criticism received by goalkeeper Siyabonga Mpontshane.
Mpontshane was off his line when Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Yusuf Maart scored from his own half in the Soweto Derby last Saturday, with many pointing fingers at the goalkeeper.
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Makaringe, however, feels people should be able to give credit to Maart for his brilliance, without criticizing Mpontshane.
"We haven't really talked about it. I did not see anyone's mistake. It was our mistake as a team to actually lose the game against Kaizer Chiefs. I understand that we worked well for one another and we did our best to make sure that they stay away from our goals. I feel like we need to grow as a nation, to get to a point where we are able to give credit to someone without judging anyone else. That boy scored a very beautiful goal and it says a lot about the kind of atmosphere that was there. It needed a beautiful goal for that occasion," Makaringe told the media ahead of the MTN8 final.
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"Someone who is a good analyst in football would actually see that the team was playing high up and we lost the ball and they took a shot and it was a goal. But it's not for everyone to see and understand because we invest our emotions in the game. And, at the end of the day, when we lose a game of that magnitude, it's a bitter pill to swallow for Orlando Pirates fans. But it's part of the game. We grow from it."
