Reneilwe Letsholonyane - Highlands Park.Backpagepix

Letsholonyane: The one Highlands Park player with a point to prove against Kaizer Chiefs

After spending eight years at Kaizer Chiefs following his arrival from Jomo Cosmos, Reneilwe Letsholonyane left the club in 2016 to join SuperSport United. 

He was guaranteed game time and more, for life after football, but his main objective was still to play and never be forced to retire - and when the chance of him playing regularly at SuperSport United became minimal, Yeye decided to leave for 'greener pastures'. 

The Soweto-born midfielder found a new home at Highlands Park after months in the wilderness as teams overlooked him and appeared reluctant to give him a chance to play. 

Article continues below

Owen Da Gama then showed faith in him and gave a lifeline soon after the start of the season - handing him his official debut against his former club, SuperSport United in the MTN8 final in an attempt to help the Lions of the North win silverware but he couldn't after coming on as a second-half substitute in that 1-0 defeat at Orlando Stadium.   

Highlands Park midfielder Reneilwe LetsholonyaneBackpagepix

Now, Highlands Park are in with another chance to win the Nedbank Cup - after missing out on both the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout Cup winners' medal. 

Standing between the Tembisa-based side and a spot in the quarter-finals is Letsholonyane's former club, Chiefs who they meet in the Last 16 on Saturday afternoon.

Chiefs have already beaten Highlands Park twice this season but those defeats came in the league - as they say, Cup games are a different ball game - and after having won many trophies in his career, including two Nedbank Cup titles, two league titles, two MTN8 titles among other trophies, Letsholonyane is definitely a winner; someone who knows how to win trophies.     

At 37, Yeye is definitely in the twilight of his career and Highlands Park may be his last professional team - especially after struggling to find a new home after leaving Matsatsantsa. 

A section of football fans thought he would return to Chiefs after parting ways with the Tshwane giants but the Soweto giants overlooked his quality and experience and opted for players 10 years younger than him at the start of the season. 

Reneilwe Letsholonyane Highlands Park February 2020Backpagepix

Some still feel he left Chiefs too early when the club needed him and that he should have remained due to his legendary status and what he achieved there while others believe the timing was right for him to leave when everyone still held him in high regards. However, his departure was sudden because the then coach, Steve Komphela used him sparingly during the 2015-16 season.  

Without insinuating anything, this may be Letsholonyane's last shot at winning silverware and helping Highlands Park oust Chiefs would be his short-term goal. 

It would enhance his dream of winning another trophy at the highest level before possibly hanging his boots up.

The fact Highlands Park have a team that can compete against any PSL club this season means Letsholonyane would also want to bow out in style when that arrives - should he achieve this goal, the 37-year-old midfielder would have cemented his legendary status of winning trophies with three different clubs as a player. 

But the point he would want to prove is Chiefs shouldn't have let him go so early in his career when they probably would have needed his experience in helping guide younger players.   

Advertisement