The Harambee Stars defender missed an opportunity to impress coach Benni McCarthy as he was sent off during a league match in South Africa, having earned a rare start.
Harambee Stars defender Brian Mandela had a bitter-sweet moment when he was sent off just 35 minutes into his South African league match for his club Stellenbosch FC.
Mandela, making a rare start, was named in the starting XI as Stellenbosch hosted Orlando Pirates on Tuesday, being the second straight match in which he was starting.
However, he lasted 35 minutes as he was shown a straight red card after denying a Pirates striker a goalscoring opportunity.
Newly-appointed Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has explained what he demands from the Stars at the CHAN tournament.
With Stellenbosch playing a high defensive line, Pirates broke on the counter and Mandela, beaten for pace by South African striker Tshegofatso Mabasa, attempted to push him back and the forward, who was through on goal, went down.
The referee initially took out a yellow card but had a second thought after which he flashed out a red card for Mandela who was forced to take an early shower for denying Mabasa a goalscoring opportunity.
It was a disappointing end for Mandela, who was just playing his eighth match in all competitions for Stellenbosch, who he joined this season, and had been slotted in due to an injury in defence.
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New Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has handed a lifeline to the South African-based defender after including him in his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Mandela also missed an opportunity to show Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy what to expect as he was handed a recall into the national team last week and was among the 49-man provisional team unveiled by the South African tactician on Tuesday for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against The Gambia and Gabon.
