Sundowns coach Mngqithi heaps praise on Klate’s work at Chippa

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi sounds relaxed, despite his team losing two league matches from six — a rare scenario for the Brazilians, who have only lost four matches in the past two seasons.

Sundowns lost three matches in the DStv Premiership last season as they romped to a fifth title in succession, but the difference is that they didn’t lose them early in the season. Their 1-0 away loss against AmaZulu came in December, a 2-1 away defeat to Maritzburg United in March and 3-0 home loss to Stellenbosch in May.

Mngqthi’s team suffered only one defeat in the 2020-2021 season, a 2-1 loss against Kaizer Chiefs in April, a campaign where they took their fourth title in a row, ending 13 points clear of runners-up AmaZulu.

“We’re not accustomed to losing matches like this but we have to move on and focus on the next assignment,” Mngqithi said on Tuesday ahead of the clash against Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Wednesday.

“The boys look refreshed and ready to give us the game we expect from them.”

Two defeats, one at home against TS Galaxy (1-0) and “away” to neighbours SuperSport United (2-1) at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Friday night, have raised questions about whether Sundowns can go all the way and win a sixth league title in a row.

Mngqithi, who insisted that the loss against SuperSport came as a result of their wastefulness in front of goal, is not pressing any panic buttons.

Sundowns lost five matches in the 2019-2020 season, the last campaign in which Pitso Mosimane was in charge and where they won the league on the last day two points clear of Kaizer Chiefs.

Mngqithi spoke glowingly of the job the former SuperSport, Orlando Pirates and Bidvest Wits star Daine Klate is doing as a head coach at Chippa.

“It’s encouraging what Daine has done with that team. They’ve scored some critical goals on set pieces. [Tanzanian centreback signing Abdi] Banda has been very important for them in that space.

“They also have [new Nigerian striker] Etiosa Ighodaro, who has done exceptionally well for them already being involved in two or three goals.

“Daine, in general, has structured the team correctly, they’re very offensive, and they don’t only just play on a break.

“In the game against Golden Arrows [Chippa’s 3-2 away defeat] they had a wonderful second half after their first half let them down. They improved tremendously in the second half, which also shows the quality of the coaching.

“So we’re expecting a very tough match but a match that we know very well we’re expected to win.”

The Sundowns co-coach said he was happy with the number of days they’ve had to rest after the defeat against SuperSport and he thinks his players will be fresh for the Chippa game.

“I think the rest has come in handy considering we’ve had quite a lot of back-to-back games, which already shows in some of the players as they do not look as fresh as they were before.

“We believe that an extra day will help us to have a more fresh team, more focused and understanding of what is expected.”

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