‘Sundowns are the only ones trying to have a football match’: Mokwena

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena has expressed frustration at teams that resort to negative football against the Brazilians.

Expressing a sentiment likely to set tongues wagging in football circles, Mokwana said in most of their games Sundowns are the ones setting the tempo.

“The biggest challenge we have now in our games is that we are responsible for the intensity of the game,” he said after the 2-1 win over Golden Arrows at Tuks Stadium on Saturday that moved them to the top of the DStv Premiership standings.

“And those games are very difficult when only one of the two teams is responsible for the tempo. In the last three or even four teams, they came to disrupt and then it becomes a bit difficult to have a football match.

“Because of that it looks like Sundowns are not playing well but the reality is Sundowns are the only ones trying to have a football match.

“With things like stoppages, time-wasting, fouls, throw-ins, goal-kicks and taking too long to restart, you have breaks to the momentum of the games. And then it is not as flowing on the eye as it should be.

“If you are a team that sits on the block, you overload the one side and you are already waiting for the switch because across the line you have five or even maybe six. So, horizontally you have covered the width of the pitch, even the opposite side fullback is anticipating that diagonal ball.

“If you look at a lot of the transitions, [in Sundowns' games] against SuperSport and even against TS Galaxy we conceded goals from those types of balls. Whether it was a cross into the box or diagonal ball that goes into the air and it’s put into competition.”

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