Pirates signed Mpontshane from Platinum Stars during the January transfer window to shore up the goalkeeping department after the passing away of Senzo Meyiwa in October.
Mhlongo was given the nod against AmaZulu on Wednesday night as the League resumed, and despite the 23-year-old showing some shortcomings, he redeemed himself with some good saves as the game wore on.
However, Mhlongo lacks the vocal-shout to his defenders and he needs to improve on that front, just as Meyiwa did by learning from his predecessor Moeneeb Josephs.
Tinkler seems to be happy with what Mhlongo has done so far and is unperturbed.
"After the performance against Bloemfontein Celtic [late last year] he deserves to continue in goals and he will continue to do that," says Tinkler.
"And those decisions are taken by me and also the technical team with the goalkeeper coach. We assess the situation and Brighton has been a fantastic player for the club and he is a great role model for the youngsters because of his professionalism and his hard work.
"He made some errors [against AmaZulu] but he is still young and it is not easy to fill Senzo Meyiwa's shoes," he adds.
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It is understandable for Tinkler to continue with Mhlongo as he has waited for his chance, and it is seems as though that won't change for now.
"Time will tell … time will tell. What's good about it is that we have good competition. Brighton is the number one and that is why he is still in goals."
The Nedbank Cup defending Champions also have former AmaZulu shot-stopper Philani Zikalala as the third goalkeeper.