TS Galaxy coach reveals Sundowns’ biggest weakness after Nedbank Cup shocker

TS Galaxy coach Adnan Beganovic has revealed how his side found it easy to beat Mamelodi Sundowns during their Nedbank Cup Round of 16 match on Saturday.

Galaxy shocked Sundowns, beating them 2-0, as Miguel Cardoso’s decision to make wholesome changes to his team backfired with the Brazilians getting knocked out of the Nedbank Cup.

Sundowns struggled with the pressing of Galaxy and the first goal arrived when Divine Lunga lost possession with Sphamandla Ngwenya going on to score past veteran goalkeeper Dennis Onyango and the second was scored from the penalty spot after Thato Sibiya brought down Seluleko Mahlambi with Junior Zindoga stepping up to score.

After the match, Beganovic went into details over how Cardoso made it easy for his side when he dropped goalkeeper Ronwen Williams from the starting XI.

Beganovic on Sundowns’ weakness

“Even though they have a squad full of high-quality players, there is a significant difference when you rotate nine or 10 players at once. I was particularly pleased to see that Ronwen Williams was not in goal,” Beganovic admitted.

“Defending against a team is completely different when he is playing versus when he is out. When he is in the goal, he acts as a key outlet. Without him, we knew we could press their back line more effectively.”

The Serbian coach said he quickly changed his tactics upon learning that Williams was not going to play to take advantage of Sundowns’ weaknesses when the Bafana Bafana No.1 was not in the side.

​”The replacement goalkeeper is talented, but he isn’t as proficient with his feet as Williams is,” he added.

How do teams utilise Williams’ absence?

“Knowing this, we adjusted our tactics. When we saw the starting lineup, I decided to shift us into a middle block to high-press them. I had a strong feeling we could win the ball back close to their own penalty box.”

Beganovic is the second coach to admit to have used Williams’ absence to gain an advantage for his team after Al-Hilal boss Laurentiu Reghecampf also said he changed his tactics to subdue Sundowns when the goalkeeper was sidelined for their CAF Champions League match last month.

“I think the big value for us is that the first goalkeeper [Ronwen Williams] didn’t play,” Reghecampf said at the time.

“When I saw the news in the paper this week, I only had one plan, which was to press, high press, to not let them come in the middle and play their game because they have very good quality players from the middle and I think for them it’s a minute because of the build-up, they lose one important player.”