Spurs banking on Ralani for lift

Veteran Surprise Ralani could well turn out to be a secret weapon for struggling Cape Town Spurs this season if his performances in his first two matches for his new club are anything to go by.

Coach Sean Connor says it would be wrong to term him as the bottom placed club’s potential saviour as they struggle with nine losses in their opening 10 matches of the DStv Premiership season, but they are expecting the 36-year-old could prove a positive catalyst.

“It's a big shout to say ‘can he be a saviour?’ because there's a lot of other good players in the team. Can he be a catalyst? Look, I think when he comes on the park, other teams worry about him,” explained the Spurs coach, whose side upset Orlando Pirates last week and narrowly lost to Kaizer Chiefs this past Wednesday.

Ralani came on as substitute in both encounters and immediately showed the form that he had previously displayed in his stints at Cape Town City and Mamelodi Sundowns.

“You can see he's got a great ability to retain the football, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he can be a saviour, but he can be instrumental in making sure that we stay in the premier division,” added Connor.

Ralani signed last month having ended his contract at Sundowns at the end of last season. He had proven a major star at Cape Town City in the four-and-a-half seasons he spent there before a business move to Sundowns, where he did not see much game time.

The Kimberley-born Ralani can be considered one of the country’s forgotten footballers. He played in Denmark and Sweden and never won a cap with Bafana Bafana.

“He hasn't had a pre-season. We all know his age. We're just trying to manage his time. We brought him on to see if he can create something. I think when he came on, he certainly created but he just doesn't have the 90 minutes in his legs at the moment,” explained the coach.