He has criss-crossed Africa over the last 12 months with club and country with hardly a break in between, but that wasn’t going to stop Keagan Dolly from getting straight into the action for the South African Under-23 team in Brazil.
Dolly got off the plane in Brasilia and was almost immediately on the field in the Under-23s’ final warm-up game for the Rio Olympics against the Brasilia police team on Friday.
And while the opposition were no great shakes, with South Africa winning 4-0, Dolly got on to the scoresheet with the final goal following a brace from new Orlando Pirates signing Thabiso Kutumela – formerly of Baroka FC – and a penalty from Brazil-based Tyrone Sandows, who plays for Gremio.
The 23-year-old Dolly could be named captain of the SA team for next Thursday’s Olympic opener against Brazil (9pm SA time) after leading the side in the qualifiers.
He arrived late in camp after playing for Mamelodi Sundowns in the African Champions League on Wednesday, where they beat Egyptian outfit Zamalek 1-0 in Atteridgeville to go through to the semi-finals.
Dolly also missed the Under-23s’ build-up to Brazil due to club commitments, so he was keen to be part of the action in the practice game. “I am very happy to finally be in Brazil with my teammates. I have not been part of the national set-up camps for a while now due to club commitments, and that is why I wanted to play on arrival. I just wanted to get in sync with the rest of the team,” he told the SA Football Association website on Saturday.
“I believe that we are a good team and that the Olympic Games will open many doors for us as players. When I speak to my teammates, I always tell them that this is the time for us to make an impression, and I hope it all goes according to plan.”
They will need all the confidence they can get when they step into the cauldron of the 70 000-capacity Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia, which hosted seven matches during the 2014 Fifa World Cup, including the Argentina-Belgium quarter-final and the third-place playoff between Brazil and The Netherlands.
And with Brazilian superstar Neymar in their Olympic squad, Dolly and the rest of the South Africans will have to be at their best to be competitive.
Brazil beat South Africa 3-1 in late May in Maceio, with Lebogang Mothiba scoring for the visitors, but Dolly is confident that his team will be better next week.
“We have a crucial few days left to finalise our preparations, and I am confident we will continue where we left off when the tournament starts,” he said. “This win was a good morale-booster as it is always nice to go into a tournament on the back of a win.”
@ashfakmohamed – Independent Media