Ex-Sundowns custodians Mark Anderson aka Lesilo Rula described Cranes goalie Denis Onyango as among the best he ever watched play in the South Africa Premier League (PSL) for his natural ability.
In an interview with Soccerladuma, Anderson; PSL winner with Sundowns in 1993 said he has kept tabs on the former SC Villa goalkeeper since joining SuperSport United in 2006 and believes he was born with natural goalkeeping skills.
“I always saw him as very reliable at SuperSport United and thought he was one of the best keepers in the league at that stage. I was very impressed with his natural ability on his first training session at Sundowns. I really saw somebody who was born with a natural goalkeeping talent,” said Anderson.
Anderson left a few months after Onyango had joined The Brazilians but was surprised when he was loaned to Bidvest Wits in the 2013/14 campaign.
Like I said, I left a few months before he came to Sundowns. Nevertheless, I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t playing, because he is such a good goalkeeper. I found it was a little bit of a waste with someone of his talent not playing. I am glad now that he was recalled and has been playing since the beginning of the year.
Onyango is currently the number one at Mamelodi ahead of Zambian international Kennedy Mweene and Wayne Sandilands of South Africa when Anderson was asked to compare the trio; he had this to say;
It is so difficult to compare the three. All I can say about Denis is that since his time with SuperSport United, I considered him as one of the best shot-stoppers in the league. When I worked with him at Sundowns before I left, I was very impressed with his natural ability. It is not a surprise for me to see him playing and occupying the number one jersey in the second round of the 2014\15 season. He definitely has to be playing in the PSL. To be honest, I couldn’t find any weaknesses with Denis. He is all round, very consistent and calm. But like I said, it is very difficult for any coach to have three quality keepers in your team.
Onyango is currently with The Cranes ahead of a crucial opener in the 2017 AFCON qualifiers against Botswana on Saturday.
