Sundowns coach Mngqithi not panicking at lack of goals as they take on Mbabane Swallows

In the three matches they have played so far against Polokwane City and Stellenbosch, one of the glaring things in the work of Mamelodi Sundowns was lack of composure in front of goals. 

Sundowns attackers have created numerous chances but they failed to convert with Thabang Matuludi scoring an own goal in the 1-0 win over Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarterfinal.

They went on to lose 1-0 in both legs of their semifinal clashes to Stellenbosch as the likes of Marcelo Allende, Themba Zwane, Tashreeq Matthews, Lucas Ribeiro and Peter Shalulile fired blanks.

During those three matches, lack of composure saw some of Sundowns’ chances hit the woodwork but coach Manqoba Mngqithi says it's too early to reach for the panic button. 

Sundowns have a chance to get their campaign on track against modest Eswatini side Mbabane Swallows during their Champions League final preliminary clash at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday (8pm). 

“We had an opportunity to work on that aspect [finishing] and it is not yet at a level where we are panicking because we have had good spells during our preparation phase. 

“If we start to panic we will cause problems. You can train the strikers as much as you want and sometimes they may not score. It is important to understand sometimes in football we don't achieve our objectives in a short space of time because these things takes time. 

“At one time I was working with coach Mandla Ncikazi [of Orlando Pirates] and he was working hard on set pieces but we were conceding on set pieces and not scoring and he was panicking. 

“I said to him sometimes in football you get rewarded when you least expect it and the first match in which we scored was two goals against Sundowns and both those goals came from set pieces.” 

“From there we scored from set pieces for probably five, six or seven games in a row and we were no longer conceding. Sometimes in football, when you put a lot of stress and emphasis on something, you induce a bit more anxiety. 

“With a lot of anxiety, precision may be compromised but if you create a calmer environment maybe that's when you create better possibilities to use the opportunities. I believe we are going to score a lot of goals.”