Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi has revealed what assisted him hold his former side Mamelodi Sundowns to a draw, ending their winning streak in the Betway Premiership.
The Brazilians arrived at this match riding a four-game winning run in the league and hoping to solidify their position at the top of the standings.
However, Arrows took an early lead by scoring first. While Sundowns managed to equalise, they were ultimately unable to find a winning goal before the final whistle.
According to Mngqithi, his long experience with Sundowns was crucial. He stated that his acquired knowledge of the team's strengths and weaknesses allowed him to develop an effective plan to neutralise them.
‘I THINK I WAS HELPED MORE BY THAT’
“I think I was helped more by that [having worked with Sundowns players] because I’ve played a lot of games against Golden Arrows when I was still at Sundowns,” said Mngqithi.
“I was the one preparing when we play against Arrows [to make sure] we are in a better space in terms of organisation because I know most of these kids.
“But I was particularly impressed by the attitude and mentality from the very first training session. I only had two sessions [since arriving on Monday].
“And the first session was mainly for the players that never played. Then, the second session was yesterday [Tuesday], where after a lot of talks in terms of organisation and showing them videos of what to expect, they adapted very quickly in a new system.
“They have not been playing a 4-3-3 formation, and I was so impressed to see them adapt so quickly and really trying to stamp their authority in moments where I thought Sundowns were struggling with midfield overload.
“But we didn’t capitalise in trying to be a little bit more incisive in getting into more dangerous positions when we were in possession.
“We only got a lot of good moments in transition.”
