Bafana defender Makhanya earns high praise on European debut
· Citizen
Bafana Bafana central defender Olwethu Makhanya picked up the Man-of-the-Match Award as Glasgow Rangers beat Czech side Jablonec 1-0 at Ibrox on Thursday in the first leg of their play-off for the league phase of the Uefa Europa Conference League.
Bafana’s Makhanya stars for Rangers
The 22-year-old Makhanya, who was part of Hugo Broos’ Bafana squad at the 2026 Fifa World Cup finals, joined Rangers this season from US Major League Soccer (MLS) side Philadelphia Union, and was praised after Thursday’s game by Rangers head coach Derek McInnes.
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“Very much so, to be honest,” said McInnes when asked at the post match press conference if he had been impressed by Makhanya.
“He has come from the MLS, which is a different type of football. We have seen a lot of games in the MLS, it is a bit slow and pedestrian.
“But what we liked about him when we watched him was his ability to go man to man, to not lose a foot race, and his calmness on the ball.
“He dealt with everything asked of him and you are right to mention him.
“He has come in when the team has not been at its best, he has come in from the outside and tried to settle in. We have a lot of young players that have come in that we are trying to integrate .. but he has done really well and I think there is a lot more to come.”
Rangers find some form
Rangers started the season without winning any of their first four matches in all competitions. They were knocked out of the Uefa Europa League by Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok and picked up just one point from their opening two Scottish Premiership games.
A 5-1 Scottish League cup thrashing of St Mirren, and the 1-0 win over Jablonec, however, have somewhat steadied the ship.
Rangers will now take on Jablonec on Thursday in the second leg of their Conference League clash, before a Premiership clash at Aberdeen on August 30.