AFTER being named in Turkey’s best 11 for the 2019-2020 season, the current Super Lig season has not been that good for Warriors defender Teenage Hadebe, who plays for Yeni Malatyaspor. BY FORTUNE MBELE A look at the league this season will show that in the nine games (including one cup) Malatyaspor have played since September, Hadebe has only played two full matches, coming from the bench in some, while in others, he has been an unused substitute. Malatyaspor take on second-tier side Etimesgut BS in the fourth round of the Turkish Cup at New Malatyaspor Stadium tonight and Hadebe will be looking to make an impact so that he can win back his jersey. It is Malatyaspor’s first game after the international break in which Hadebe featured for the Warriors in the back-to-back Group H Africa Cup of Nations qualifier matches, where Zimbabwe lost 3-1 to Algeria away before returning home to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw in which they came back from two goals down. That was a few days before Hadebe played his second full game for Yeni Malatyaspor this season when they beat Denizlispor 2-1 on November 8. He had played a full match on October 26 when Malatyaspor fell 3-1 to giants Trabzonspor away from home in a league match. The lanky defender was not part of the squad that lost 3-0 to Faith Karagumruk in the first game of the season on September 12. He came from the bench in the second in a 1-1 draw against Goztep at home on September 26. Hadebe again came in as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Antalyaspor at home on October 3. He did not play in the next three games against Konyaspor (1-1 away), Genderbirligi (2-1 win at home) and giants Besiktas (1-0 away defeat). He sat on the bench once more in the third round of the Turkish Cup when his side beat third-tier side Artvin Hopaspor 2-0 on November 5, playing a full league game three days later against Denizlispor. Yeni Malatyaspor sit on position 13 on the Super Lig standings with 12 points out of a possible 24 from three wins, three draws and one defeat. Follow Fortune on Twitter @fmbele
