Sundowns ‘on the right track’, says defiant Mngqithi after Stellies loss

Mamelodi Sundowns often showed a lack of conviction in their MTN8 matches against Polokwane City and Stellenbosch but coach Manqoba Mngqithi says it is too early to start reaching for the panic button. 

The Brazilians scraped past Polokwane City 1-0 in their quarterfinal and lost by the same margin to Stellenbosch in the first leg of the semifinal at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday night, leaving their supporters unhappy. 

Though they created good scoring chances and were often denied by Stellenbosch's brilliant goalkeeper Sage Stephens, who pulled off some stunning saves to earn the man-of-the-match award, Sundowns generally lacked conviction. 

The advantage is firmly with Stellies as the 61st-minute penalty that was converted by in-demand defender Fawaaz Basadien gave them the away goal that may prove crucial in the second leg on Sunday. 

Downs will have to regroup and fight to turn this result around when the two teams meet again at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday in a bid to force their way into the final against the winner of the other semifinal between Orlando Pirates and Cape Town City, which is tantalisingly level at 1-1. 

“Sometimes I feel some of the best moments are few and far between, but I do see what we are trying to achieve,” Mnqgithi said. 

“I do see the team getting stronger as we progress, I do see the team achieving more than we did last season. I just felt that we did not want to grab control of the game, we did not capitalise on the challenges they had in the wide channels.

“[Left-back] Terrence Mashego was open [on the overlap] from the beginning of the first half and [right-back] Khuliso Mudau was free for the better part of the first half. We were not rotating the ball enough to get into those areas, and when we got into those areas we always looked potent. I am optimistic we are on the right track.” 

In the face of defeat, Mngqithi has taken lessons. 

“I also gather a lot of lessons from matches like this. When you are playing against a team like Stellenbosch, you are often made to see what the PSL is going to look like.

“This is because a lot of teams will always have a low block and sporadically try to press you from the top. 

“You know that is not their main intention; their intention is to draw you closer and open the space behind so they can capitalise on that. I think our centrebacks can be a bit more decisive in dealing with these situations either by breaking the pressure or killing the space behind.

“Or try to win almost all the balls that are played [so that] whenever we have gone in and won those challenges, we immediately initiated an attack. It is always the big moments that are created from a long ball against these teams. 

“Whenever they get the ball and play forward, they are able to win and establish play immediately to try to find a penetrative pass. Sometimes we rely on our build-up, but I think there is so much to benefit from transitions that we can get from the opposition. 

“Most of these teams get more excited whenever they have possession of the ball — they are more dangerous when they don’t have the ball. But when they have the ball there is a lot of benefit [for the opposition].”