Cardoso opens up on Mothiba’s failed panenka in Sundowns’ win over Polokwane

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has jumped to the defence of striker Lebo Mothiba after his attempt to take a panenka failed to pay off on Wednesday.

Sundowns won 1-0 away to Polokwane City to return to the summit of the PSL table but it would have been more comfortable had Mothiba converted the penalty.

Mothiba came on just after the hour mark to replace Peter Shalulile with the scores tied 0-0 as Sundowns huffed and puffed without finding a breakthrough.

Mothiba misses rare moment of glory

However, it took him less than a minute to make an impact when he set up Marcello Allende to score and he had his own moment of glory that he fluffed.

Following a foul on Khulumani Ndamane, Sundowns were awarded a penalty in the 74^th minute and Mothiba stepped up but having sent the keeper the wring way, his panenka was not powerful enough to trouble the custodian who saved it with his outstretched leg.

His coach is not dwelling into the miss or technique as he feels the striker was just unlucky on the day.

Cardoso defends Sundowns striker

“I was looking in the back and a little bit also in the sky,” said Cardoso of the penalty as per iDiski Times. “I confess I didn’t really know what happened. I think the goalkeeper was going on another side so he tried to play on that side. Look, Lebo is a very good penalty shooter, very good,” he further stated.

“If he didn’t make the goal today, it was not because he didn’t want just because he didn’t he could not. So it’s what it is.

“Teams get up in the moments that there’s one that doesn’t do something and go for that. We don’t relate with the mistakes we look, analyze them, we relate with the possibility to make better in the next ones.”