Durban — Mamelodi Sundowns were on the receiving end of a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of TS Galaxy on Wednesday night, a result that set the spotlight on the defending champions and put a dent on their aura of invincibility.
The Brazilians dominated matters in terms of possession, as expected, however too many mistakes in crucial zones on the field and an unfamiliar bluntness upfront left the technical team frustrated - particularly co-coach Rulani Mokwena, who felt too many of his players had 'off-days' due to a lack of preparation.
"There is no time in football, we are in the sport of winning matches as coaches. The performances today were not good and we had too many players today who were struggling with the touch and the intensity of the game," he explained.
"It is our responsibility to ensure that the team is prepared so when the team isn't prepared with the right hunger and aggression then we need to look at ourselves and try to prepare better because we have a big (match) on Saturday."
Sundowns have been the benchmark for the domestic game for nearly a decade now, their quality complemented by an unrelenting attitude to win and their astute work off the field has been at the heart of the club's success.
The opening two games, however, have seen the likes of Tebogo Mokoena and Ronwen Williams deliver outstanding performances while the 'old-guard' of the club seem to be a few paces behind in fitness and sharpness.
Andile Jali and Gaston Sirino got their first 25 and 21 minutes of the season respectively as Mokwena and his technical team tried to inject some experience and guile in search of an equaliser but that didn't materialize with last season's Footballer of the Season, Peter Shalulile, struggling.
"Today was one of those days where we could've made five substitutions and we tried bring in Sipho (Mbule), (Lesedi) Kalinga and (Abubeker) Nasir thinking maybe they'd have something around the box but it didn't happen today and we kept over-playing," said Mokwena.
The 35-year-old mentor also urged the club's supporters to get behind them more in the midst of this adversity as that could also be a significant contribution whenever they try to work their way back into games.
"It's beautiful seeing our fans singing after the game has ended but I'd like to see them more vocal when the game is playing, especially when it's 1-0 because maybe that's the push we need, especially in the Champions League," he expressed.
IOL Sport