Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso slams poor Loftus pitch

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has strongly criticised the poor Loftus pitch which was one of the major talking points after their 4-1 demolition of Orlando Pirates on Saturday. 

The Brazilians thumped Pirates through a brace by irrepressible Lucas Ribeiro and a goal each from Grant Kekana and Teboho Mokoena as they went nine points clear at the top of the Betway Premiership standings. 

Pirates, who have a game in hand, scored their only goal from the effort of Deon Hotto and they have lots of work ahead if they are to overtake Sundowns who are finding their rhythm under Cardoso. 

Though the game was played in front of a packed stadium, Cardoso said the quality of the football could have been better and he would prefer to play the coming big matches at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

“When I looked at the pitch during the prematch interviews, I felt it was not in good condition,” he said. 

“I said it even before I knew what was going to happen in the match. The better the quality of the pitch, the better football you are going to get and for our team we suffer from pitches like this.

“I am not naive to say I only speak [about bad pitches] when we go to other places away from home. I spoke about the pitch in Polokwane because it was tough.” 

Cardoso said the club worked closely with Loftus stadium management to ensure the pitch, which they share with local rugby side the Bulls, is in good condition. 

“I can make a confession that during the week, I received daily reports about the work that was being done on the pitch. Our pitch keepers were here every day working on this pitch, otherwise it would been worse. 

“But there are things we don’t control. We don’t control the events that happen here and the other games that happen here because this is not our stadium. 

“It is not our responsibility that the pitch is like this, we fight hard and we pay to have it better. At the end of the game, I was with the guy who works with the pitch and he was explaining what type of work he will be doing from Sunday. 

“He is going to remove all the dry turf and put 60kg of new seeds, so believe me when I say we are working on the pitch. At halftime, he came to ask if he can put water and I said no. 

“It was enough because the pitch was slippery and it was going to be worse with more water. We want the pitch to be quality because we want to play good football and we want a spectacle. 

“I even said to people from the club that from now on, I prefer the big games at Lucas Moripe Stadium.” 

Pirates coach Jose Riveiro also weighed in, saying the pitch was not good. 

“If I talk it is going to be a big headline. I don’t want to give you that chance to try to show that I am justifying what happened on the field because of the pitch. 

“It was the same for Sundowns, they managed to find the way to win the game despite the circumstances under which this game was played. With the players that they have and football they want to play, I am sure Sundowns are not happy with the field. 

“This is not an advantage for Sundowns as well. It's a pity that this match was played on this field because it is not helping the game due to the risk of injuries. 

“With every single action there is a high risk of injuries for both teams. It is true that the game was played under difficult conditions for Sundowns and Pirates.”