Cape Town City managing top scorer Khanyisa Mayo load

The striker was taken off before the hour mark in their goalless DStv Premiership draw against Kaizer Chiefs at Athlone Stadium on Saturday, with Tinkler opting to give 19-year-old forward Jody Ah Shene his debut. 

Mayo was visibly frustrated at being subbed off so early on, but Tinkler argued the player’s inclusion in the Bafana Bafana squad meant they had to be careful.  

"I'll be brutally honest, I was considering not starting [Mayo] because it's brutal what he's had to go through – from Algeria, an hour-and-a-half drive to the airport, then a six-hour flight to Dubai, then a four-hour lay-over, and then a flight to Jo'burg, and another two hours to Cape Town," explained the coach.

"He arrived on Thursday afternoon, and on Friday he came to training, so I was considering not starting him, but at the same time, I had a youngster Jody – how fair is it to throw him in the deep end right from the first whistle?

"But I sat with Mayo and asked him, 'How do you feel?' and he said he feels rested, he went to cryotherapy, which we hoped would help him.

"But somewhere along the line it was going to happen – whether I started him or not, there was always going to be fatigue in his legs, but I started him and he struggled."

City did have the experienced Thabiso Kutumela on the bench as another attacking option against Chiefs, but Tinkler insists the Mamelodi Sundowns loanee is far from being at his best. 

"Mayo is our top goal scorer, and that I cannot ignore. Thabiso is not a striker, he functions more as a 10, and Thabiso himself has been struggling for form," he added.

READ: Spurs part ways with technical director Sean Connor