Mosimane and Baxter make up after warm-up debacle … kind of

04 November 2016 - 19:31 By Marc Strydom

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane and his SuperSport United counterpart‚ Stuart Baxter‚ have apparently buried the hatchet over a disagreement the last time the two teams met‚ but Mosimane had more to say. Newly-crowned African champions Sundowns and SuperSport – midweek 6-1 slayers of Orlando Pirates and‚ as collateral damage‚ their coach Muhsin Ertugral – meet in what must surely be a cracking Telkom Knockout quarterfinal Tshwane derby at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday (6pm).Adding an edge to the cup tie is the incident that occurred when the two teams last met in a cup game – the MTN8 quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on August 28‚ which Sundowns won 3-1.Rules for that game stated which set of change-rooms and dugouts the teams would use and which side of the field each would use warm up on. Downs‚ though‚ insisted on having the dugout on the right and would not budge‚ until threatened with a walkover.Farcically‚ Downs warmed up on SuperSport’s side of the field together with Matsatsantsa.Mosimane later apologised to Baxter for “being arrogant‚ but SuperSport’s coach said his Downs counterpart had “gone down in my estimation”.What a difference five days can make - Pitso goes from Baxter’s hero to his zeroAt a SuperSport United media open day on Thursday last week Stuart Baxter waxed lyrically about the mutual respect that he and his Mamelodi Sundowns counterpart Pitso Mosimane enjoy for each other. In Thursday’s pre-match press conference for Saturday’s Telkom re-match‚ Baxter denied harsh words were spoken. The two have a healthy rivalry from when they alternated league titles and Baxter was coach of Kaizer Chiefs.“I have to say‚ from where I’m sitting I don’t think there were any harsh words‚” Baxter said.“I didn’t read any harsh words from Pitso directed at me. The powers that be put the rules in place. If I’m understanding where Pitso’s coming from it’s when the rules are not clear‚ and some are like this one day and like that another‚ and that’s where his complaint came from.”Mosimane‚ too‚ said no harsh words had been exchanged. However the Downs’ coach could not help landing a few more punches. “I didn’t hear any harsh words on that. It’s football‚ and it’s a derby and these things do happen‚” Mosimane said.“We are professionals man. We don’t have time to be sitting and talking here about who and what happened. If you keep grudges you will lose matches‚ so you have to move on.“But I also would like to know where I am sitting on Saturday.” Mosimane then added: “The only thing that I have found is peace. I allow the opponents to come to Loftus and direct me. And that’s what I did with Cape Town City [in a 2-1 league defeat on Sunday] – they told me‚ ‘You go there’‚ in Pretoria.“And when we come to Cape Town they’ll still tell us where to go.“So I keep quiet‚ I keep peace‚ because once I speak you know what happens – there’s a letter coming to me.“So I was told where to sit and where to warm up [against City]‚ and I just kept quiet‚ and no letter came.“That’s the best thing – just keep quiet and let everybody come to your house and tell you where you need to warm up‚ and where you need to sit‚ and you don’t have a letter coming to you.”Sundowns, Chiefs and Pirates handed home draws for TKO quarterfinalThe so-called ‘big guns’ all received home draws in the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout with defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns to face SuperSport United in a mouth-watering Tshwane Derby. From his statements Mosimane appears to still feel aggrieved‚ even if he disobeyed rules.To add insult to Mosimane’s perceived injury‚ he has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute. This happened at a time when Sundowns became African champions despite not having midweek fixtures postponed in their run to the Caf Champions League final.Telkom Knockout quarterfinals:Saturday:Baroka FC v Cape Town City FC (Peter Mokaba Stadium‚ 3pm)Mamelodi Sundowns v SuperSport United (Lucas Moripe Stadium‚ 6pm)Orlando Pirates v Highlands Park (Orlando Stadium‚ 8pm)Sunday:Kaizer Chiefs v Free State Stars (Moses Mabhida Stadium‚ 3pm)..

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