‘Hurt’ Mokwena unhappy with ‘loss of identity’ in MC Alger loss

Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena suffered his first loss in the Algerian Ligue 1 on Thursday after falling by a solitary goal against newbies MB Rouissat.

Former People’s Club player Kheiredine Merzougui scored the lone goal of the match after 27 minutes to give the hosts maximum points. It also elevated them to eighth on the table with 16 points; they have secured four wins, as many draws and three losses.

Despite the defeat, Mokwena’s men remain top of the league table with 25 points from 10 games, four more than second-placed Oran who have played three more matches.

It was the second loss across all competitions for the 38-year-old, with the initial one coming against Al Hilal in the CAF Champions League. It basically means he has managed 11 wins, five draws and two losses since taking over as the new tactician.

We have to move on fast!

We didn’t play well [Thursday]. It’s easy for me to digest a result like this because I think they were more aggressive, they wanted it a little bit more,” Mokwena told the media.

“They were fighting, they picked up the second ball, and when the opposition is like this, you accept with a lot of humility and move on. Maybe what hurts me the most is not the result. The result is normal in a season with 30 games. It’s possible to lose one or two away from home, but of course, in a big team, you can’t lose too many games.

“What hurts me the most is the performance. We lost a little bit of our identity, and we played too many long balls. But okay, this is for discussion when we do the review with the group, and we will try to correct it.  

“But as I said to the players, we have to digest, accept and move on very fast because we have a lot of games. When we don’t have those [injured] players, and we win, I don’t complain. When we lose without the players, it’s the same thing.”