After some early spluttering, Mngqithi’s Sundowns goal machine is starting to purr

The early-season turbulence has been successfully negotiated and Mamelodi Sundowns appear to be in cruise mode again. 

The Brazilians started the campaign with Manqoba Mngqithi as sole head coach for the first time after the departure of Rulani Mokwena in the off-season, generating great interest as to how their season would unfold under the new regime. 

Under Mngqithi, senior coach Steve Komphela, assistant coach Romain Folz and goalkeeper coach Kennedy Mweene, the Brazilians got out of the blocks with an unconvincing win over Polokwane City and back-to-back defeats to Stellenbosch in the MTN8. Some mild alarm bells started ringing. There were mutterings of discontent from supporters on social media. The media speculated. 

Questions were asked about the capabilities of Mngqithi, who has worked as assistant and co-coach in the past at the club, as he took the step into the limelight in his first appointment at a big three club; and on recent results, ambition and player and spending power, the biggest of those three. Mngqithi had won a trophy way back in 2009 with a famous 6-0 MTN8 final win against Ajax Cape Town, and some more as co-coach of Downs with Mokwena and Komphela. It seemed a big test to see if one of the quieter, if hugely respected and intellectual, background men of South African football could take the big step up into such a hot seat. After the patchy start, the signs now are promising.

Since they were knocked out of the MTN8, Sundowns have gone on a run of nine wins and one defeat in all competitions. Orlando Pirates, after slow starts in the previous two campaigns cost Jose Riveiro's men a closer race than their runners-up finishes by a huge 16 and 23 points, are the pacesetters in the Betway Premiership. Seven-time champions Downs are breathing down their necks. 

This period has seen Mngqithi’s side score a whopping 30 goals and concede four, and also the return to scoring form of Peter Shalulile, the Namibian goal ace who struggled towards the end of last season and the beginning of this one. 

Sundowns have secured a place in the semifinals of the Carling Knockout, where they are overwhelming favourites against Marumo Gallants in Bloemfontein on Sunday after the exits of Pirates, Chiefs, SuperSport United and defending champions Stellenbosch. 

Even in this form, and if it continues, comparisons to Mokwena's record-breaking 2023-24 season where Downs lost one league game and set a new points benchmark of 72 would be unfair. This is going to be a more difficult campaign for Downs and a better season for the Premiership given Pirates, Polokwane City, Stellenbosch, Sekhukhune United and Chippa United have shown they have closed the gap on the Brazilians, who had few serious opponents in the last two campaigns. Chiefs, while finding their feet under Nabi, should become competitive as the season progresses. 

After they demolished Amakhosi last weekend in their best performance of the season so far, Mngqithi said he was happy Downs are peaking at the right time, but it remains to be seen if they will maintain the pace. 

“We wanted to peak around this time. We did not want to arrive at this stage with most of these players having a lot of games at their back,” the coach said, noting how his rotation policy of players during the opening rounds has kept many crucial performers fresh. 

“We are excited that most of these players have been rotated a lot and have not really had so much load on their legs. We are hoping that we will be able to sustain these football actions. This is why I was demanding a little bit more consistency from how we approached the game after our first two or three goals.” 

Though they were dominant in the 4-0 win over Chiefs, Mngqithi was not impressed his side could not score more goals and that their tempo slowed in the second half. 

“That is because I saw we are going back to being sluggish, slow and playing just to kill time but it is impressive to see most of our players showing the quality. We are hoping that will help us because we are arriving at the stage where we wanted to have most of our players not having played that much.” 

Sundowns look good at the moment, but is this the season Mngqithi finally steps out of the shadows of predecessors Pitso Mosimane and Mokwena to make a statement in the Champions League and defend the league title? 

Over the coming months, there are going to be many twists and turns as the campaign gains momentum in what promises to be one of the most engrossing South African football seasons in recent memory. 

Many questions are already being asked about the fascinating plot that is set to unfold. The focus is not only going to be on Sundowns.

One of the questions is: can Riveiro get Pirates into stride in the Premiership to add to the cup successes he has brought in his past two seasons, plus the MTN8 already added to this one? Can the Buccaneers genuinely challenge Sundowns for the title, or even halt their seemingly unstoppable championship streak? It’s not going to be easy for Pirates, who will have to navigate the difficult terrains of the Caf Champions League. 

We are excited that most of these players have been rotated a lot and have not really had so much load on their legs. We are hoping that we will be able to sustain these football actions, this is why I was demanding a little bit more consistency from how we approached the game after our first two or three goals.

—  Manqoba Mngqithi

Another intriguing subplot that will play out is whether Nabi can achieve a monumental task turning Amakhosi around from their dismal nine years without silverware. Even if he can, will he also do it by winning a trophy this campaign, thus avoiding the ignominy for the club of their drought going to a decade? 

Things are not looking good as Amakhosi missed out on the season-opening MTN8 and have been dumped out of the Carling Knockout. Their only hope of laying their hands on silverware is the Nedbank Cup instead of winning the Premiership. 

Teams like Polokwane, Stellies, Sekhukhune and Chippa look like they mean business and they may be one of two teams that may surge late in the season. The Brazilians return to action on Wednesday when they host Polokwane looking for revenge as their visitors stunned them last weekend. 

There was a lot of noise as Mngqithi stamped his authority early on amid the rocky start. It seemed some Sundowns players loyal to Mokwena — who did not always see eye-to-eye with Mngqithi when they were co-coaches — were not reacting well to the new head coach this season. Mngqithi took a major decision, sidelining big stars Teboho Mokoena and Khuliso Mudau for a string of about five matches. He took flak for it. He will have known he would have. It was brave, and showed he's willing to make tough calls and be strict. Ultimately, the move seemed to work.

Sundowns are in cruise mode after some early-season spluttering and Mngqithi’s goal machine is starting to purr.