Makhanya won six duels and made eight defensive actions for Rangers at the weekend, but it was one moment late in the game that people were talking about afterwards, reports Soccer Laduma.
The 20-year-old Bafana Bafana defender played the full match as Rangers won 2-0 at St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership, keeping them second behind Celtic.
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With 72 minutes gone, Makhanya stepped out of defence with the ball and was caught in possession. St Mirren countered quickly and hit the post, and Rangers were lucky not to concede.
The rest of his game was hard to fault. He completed 87% of his passes, including seven long balls, and won two fouls for his side.
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Former Rangers player Ian McCall felt the incident showed the risk in Makhanya’s relaxed style. Speaking on BBC Sportsound, he said the defender had been excellent since arriving at Ibrox, but that his calmness on the ball could easily turn into a costly error.
“Makhanya has been fabulous for Rangers, but there is a very thin line between slackness and being super composed,” McCall said, as quoted by Ibrox News. “He was too composed there and made a terrible error that could have ended up in a goal.”
It’s a warning that shouldn’t worry Makhanya too much, given how well he has started in Scotland. But against better attacks, those moments will be punished more often.
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He now joins up with Bafana Bafana for the AFCON qualifiers against Kenya.
Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
