‘Afraid’ Cardoso happy with Mamelodi Sundowns ‘miracles’ as PSL crown tide favours Pirates

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has conceded it is unpredictable where the Premier Soccer League crown will end up after a fierce contest between them and Orlando Pirates.

The defending champions have collected 68 points from the 29 matches played in the almost-ending edition. Bucs are three points behind but with two games in hand. However, they have a superior goal difference, which gives them an advantage.

On Saturday, Masandawana won 7-4 against Siwelele in an exciting top-tier encounter staged at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Cardoso argues the team’s performance was negatively affected by the abence of his stars.

Why Cardoso is ‘very afraid’

“Look, my worry is mostly about whatever can happen in football games in South Africa because now it is unpredictable. I never knew I would lose players, I never knew players would get injured, and there are a lot of things that can happen that we cannot control, and that makes me very afraid,” he opened up.

“I heard comments from sports commentators across the country and fans saying the match was really poor, but the game was approached that way because we also have the CAF Champions League to compete in.

“We lost players [Keanu Cupido] who are regularly used in our line-up, and I think we are doing miracles managing this team, especially considering where we are now,” Cardoso added.

Fixture pile-up

It was a second match in less than 72 hours, and this will be a third one. As you might understand, there will be another match played four days later after a sequence of three matches in less than 72 hours,” he further explained.

“There is obviously a lot of concern on my part, as you might imagine. There is also an attempt to manage the situation, but we cannot give up on winning our matches, so we will continue until the last minute against TS Galaxy in search of points.

“Those points are not only important for the championship, but also to establish this as one of the best league campaigns in Sundowns’ history. It’s important to recognise that, but first let’s get these three points, and then we can speak again,” the former Esperance coach concluded.