Mokotjo shines in Feyenoord debut

South African under-23 international Kamohelo Mokotjo is living his dream - thousands of kilometres away from his mining hometown of Odendaalsrus in the Free State.

This week, the combative central midfielder took baby steps towards making his mark in one of Europe's big leagues. Mokotjo made his Feyenoord senior team debut on Wednesday in a Dutch Cup encounter against Roda JC - a match they lost in a penalty shootout.

He rejoined the Dutch giants during the pre-season in July this year, following a year-long loan spell with Dutch club Excelsior.

While the former SuperSport United player enjoyed himself and performed admirably, he says he won't let the experience "get the better of me".

"My debut was good. It was special. It was better than our fans had expected. But I did not surprise myself because I think I played my normal game," he said.

"I hope to get more game time and I believe the coach will have a bit of trust and more confidence in me after he saw what I can offer the team.

"It's important for me to get game time and get used to the conditions. When I stepped on the pitch, I was thinking that it was up to me to make it happen. I knew that the moment had come for me to make an impression and I really enjoyed it. It's just unfortunate that we lost."

Mokotjo, who played for the entire match, says his immediate goal is to continue improving his game and to make himself a better player so that he can make an impression on SA national team selectors.

He made his under-23 debut against Zimbabwe a month ago and has played for SA's under-12, under-17 and under-20 teams.

His mother, Moleboheng Mokotjo, was the first person to send him a SMS on Thursday after his debut.

"She told me that a Gauteng radio station was complimentary about my performance. She's very proud of me and calls even when things aren't going well," he says.

Mokotjo's manager, Ashley Kotzin, said the club's press officer was very excited and happy with the player's performance. "He thought Kamohelo had a very good game," said Kotzin.

If Mokotjo continues to impress at club level and with the Amaglug-glug - he may soon feature on Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane's radar.

The gritty 19-year-old seems destined for greater things.