Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has lauded his team for putting up an impressive display in their comeback win over Marumo Gallants on Wednesday.
Sundowns came from a goal down to secure a 3-1 victory against Gallants at the Dr Molemela Stadium on Wednesday, with second half goals from Marcelo Allende, Lucas Ribeiro and Iqraam Rayners doing the job, after a first-half header from Junior Dion.
It was a performance that impressed Cardoso, who says his team were top even in the first half when they did not score, and made his halftime pep talk easy as he told them to stay patient and maintain their rhythm.
“Coming from behind means the team has the right spirit and capacity to work out the difficulties that the matches can have but I think we had a wonderful first half, I think the best this season,” Cardoso told SuperSport TV.
Easy halftime pep talk for Cardoso
“Very high rhythm and very aggressive from the back. We were so aggressive in the front and we suffered a goal. A very good action for them but completely out of the rhythm and the way the game was going.
“What I said to the boys at halftime was very simple and very clear, there’s no, no way to change, nothing. Just keep going and going.”
Cardoso admits he knew his team would complete the comeback if they got the first goal and trusted them to do the job without having to panic.
“I knew that the game could become emotional, and it was important to deal with that. As much as we could focus on what we wanted for the game the best,” he added.
“I think, after we scored the first goal, we lost ourselves a little bit exactly eventually, because of that anxiety of trying to make the second goal.
Are Sundowns a disciplined team?
“But I also told them that the nail could be big, but the hammer would be stronger to put it in the wood, and we did it so completely out of question the merit of the victory.
One negative spot in Sundowns’ display was the sending off of goalkeeper Dennis Onyango for a second bookable offence in what was a ninth red card for them this season and the Portuguese tactician feels his ‘disciplined’ team is being targeted by opponents.
“It was even interesting to see how we finished. But it’s becoming too easy to put our players out of the games repeatedly. And this is a very disciplined team, and it looks like not, but they are. They are,” insisted Cardoso.
Victory took Sundowns’ tally to 45 points from 17 matches and they have now opened a 12-point lead over second-placed Orlando Pirates, who had their match away to Golden Arrows abandoned, due to a waterlogged pitch at the Mpumalanga Stadium on Wednesday.
