Sundowns star adamant Masandawana have ‘no excuse’ despite facing ‘dangerous & speedy wingers’

Mamelodi Sundowns defender Aubrey Modiba insists the Brazilians can’t afford another defeat after losing 1-0 to Golden Arrows in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final.

On Wednesday, Masandawana host AmaZulu at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the Premier Soccer League outing.

Miguel Cardoso’s squad has been hit by a wave of untimely injuries. Right-back Khuliso Mudau is a doubt after limping off with a suspected Achilles problem against Gallants, while new signing Antonio Van Wyk and midfielder Teboho Mokoena remain sidelined.

Keanu Cupido and Arthur Sales continue to nurse longer-term issues, leaving Cardoso with selection headaches across defence and midfield.

Sundowns can’t drop points.

Bafana Bafana international Aubrey Modiba insists Sundowns can’t afford back-to-back losses. He concedes Arthur Zwane’s Usunu are a dangerous team, but remains optimistic of collecting maximum points.

“We have shifted our focus to this league game, because it’s never easy to play against AmaZulu,” the left-back said, as quoted by SABC Sport.

“We will take the positives from the defeat against Arrows and use it in the league. At Sundowns, we always try not to lose consecutive games, and we will bounce back.

“They are a well rested team, but that is no excuse for us. We know they have dangerous and speedy players, and they know exactly how they want to play. We also have dangerous players, so it’s going to be a great game to watch,” he concluded.

Sundowns have so far collected seven points from the three PSL fixtures that they have played.