Mngqithi believes Sundowns have capacity to deal with fixture pile-up

With a punishing programme that starts next week with three matches in eight days, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi says they have the capacity to cope with the fixture pile-up.

Sundowns started the year with a 4-0 win over GladAfrica Championship side Richards Bay in the last-32 of the Nedbank Cup on Friday through goals by Bradley Ralani, Rushine de Reuck, Pavol Šafranko and Peter Shalulile.

There is no rest for the Brazilians as they resume their DStv Premiership programme by hosting Chippa United on Monday at Loftus where they will be looking to increase their lead at the top of the log.

Four days later they will be in Caf Champions League action against Sudanese side Al Hilal and this busy period will end on Valentine’s Day when they travel to Polokwane to take on Baroka.

“We fully understand the load that is coming, which is why we made the type of substitutions that we made to try to refresh the team,” Mngqithi said after the win over Richards Bay.

“When we have already managed to grab the game by the its neck we make changes. We understand very well that at this stage we are minus one game out of the 27 that we would have to play if we get to all the finals.

“In the next nine days, we are expected to play three matches and I believe the boys have the capacity to do anything possible and make sure that we get what we want.

“It is also our responsibility as coaches to make sure that we keep the team fresh and understanding that all these matches are important. I think we have a very good group of players who understand the mission of what we are really trying to achieve.”

Mngqithi was satisfied with the way the players bounced back after a patchy first half in their ultimately dominant win over Richards Bay.

“I thought our first half was a bit scrappy, but I was very impressed with our second half. We gained control of the game, we passed the ball better, we were not rushing and also not running with the ball a lot.

“Our first half was lethargic and we were losing the ball unnecessarily, we were too stretched and at times we would make very silly mistakes of running with the ball and our rest defence was never the best.

“We were nearly caught in many instances and honestly speaking I think we did not display the dominance that you would expect from our team but nonetheless we managed to score a very good goal with a good ball from Khuliso Mudau to Ralani.

“Our second half looked very strong, very resolute and we created a lot of very good scoring moments and I was very impressed.”

Mngqithi was also happy with the debuts of Ralani and Teboho Mokoena.

“A very sound performance from Surprise Ralani, not a surprising performance because we know what he is capable of,” the coach said.

“We know he is still going to help is a lot, he understands our technical plan and our playing concept and Cape Town City play something close to what you would want to see.

"'Tebza' [Mokoena] came in second half just to refresh the team and did well to stabilise the midfield. Good passing moments and he created a lot of interesting moments even in the final third.

“We are happy with their contribution to the team and we believe there is still more to come.”