Moroka Swallows' Greg Etafia was the last goalkeeper to be disrespected by Mphela's arrogant right foot. On Wednesday night, Mphela connected with a defence-splitting Esrom Nyandoro pass, held off a defender and sliced the ball into the net from a tight angle. It was just one of his 11 great goals in 14 matches this season.
Still, Mphela is not mentioned in the same breath as Daniel "Mambush" Mudau or Bennett Masinga and has still not convinced many a football supporter that he is the solution to Bafana's goal-scoring drought.
This argument is strengthened by the fact that Benni McCarthy has been recalled to the national team despite scoring just two goals in six appearances in Blackburn Rovers' 10 matches before yesterday's game against Portsmouth.
"It does not really bother me," says Mphela. "In fact, it takes the pressure off me a little bit. Big names bring expectations and people expect you to score every day. I am happy to be doing my job without the burden."
One possible reason why the 24-year-old has not been embraced by the supporters is that some of his goals came when Bafana were losing or because he does not score hat tricks or those dramatic match winners - say, for instance - against Kaizer Chiefs, SuperSport United, Orlando Pirates or in other high-profile matches.
Nonetheless, his eternal goal-scoring spree is proving he has everything required to take over the baton from McCarthy .
Christened "Killer" by his teammates at Jomo Cosmos, where he cut his professional teeth, Mphela is looking deadlier than Bheki Cele's Shoot-to-Kill cops. He has fixed his sniper's red dot on the foreheads of the goalkeepers and defenders blocking his path.
"I am grateful I am getting a chance to start. The more matches I start, the more goals I am going to score. My technique is improving and the Confederations Cup performance boosted my confidence.
"You must remember that people were complaining about my selection and I just had to prove them wrong."
He says he was frustrated by the chopping and changing of coaches at Sundowns last season - and only scored five goals in cup and league.
"There was no consistency. I was injured and when I recovered a new coach would come in. We had three coaches last season (Henri Michel, Trott Moloto and Ted Dumitru) and it's not easy to play for so many in a season."
Born in the sleepy town of Brits in the North West province, Mphela says he is thrilled about being part of the Bafana set up leading to the World Cup.
"It's exciting. Carlos Alberto Parreira is back, Benni is also back and there are a number of youngsters in the team. This means everyone is going to fight for their positions."
"We have to support one another. Mabhuti Khenyeza scored many goals last season and so did Richard Henyekane. We know what Bernard Parker and Benni can do. The under-20 players (Kermit Erasmus, Daylon Claasen and Darren Keet) had a great under-20 World Cup in Egypt and will add a breath of fresh air.
"They are the future and will learn so much in the camp. They will know what's expected of them when their time comes."
Mphela was spotted playing in the township's dust bowls by Jomo Sono. After four seasons at Ezenkosi, he was transfer-red to French side Strasbourg, where he spent two years.
"I struggled so much to adapt but coming back was a blessing in disguise. I have a good chance of playing at the World Cup. I will only consider going overseas again after that because I will be more experienced."
He says now that Parreira is back, it is time to start winning again. "He will bring new ideas, new tactics and win matches at the same time.
"I don't want to talk about coach (Joel) Santana because we need to move on. I am confident we are going to perform well against Japan and Jamaica."
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