Mihlali Baleka
Manqoba Mngqithi has urged his Mamelodi Sundowns’ troops to quickly bounce back from their loss away to Polokwane City, given that they do not have time to feel sorry for themselves.
The Brazilians' perfect start to the Betway Premiership came to an end on Sunday afternoon as they suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Polokwane at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
And while the loss came in just their fifth league game of the season – after winning the first four – it seems Polokwane has shown to the rest of the teams in the league that Sundowns are there for the taking. As such, Mngqithi and his troops have all to do going forward as they are still expected to win an unprecedented eighth title in a row by some pundits and their fans.
The team must improve all round against Cape Town City tomorrow night at 7.30 pm in Pretoria to get back to winning ways, as Mngqithi was not happy at all with their display in Polokwane.
“I was not impressed with our speed of play, chance creation, and decision in the final. These are areas that we must work on to try and get ourselves back,” the coach said.
“We thought we had improved tremendously in that regard. This is the team that played against (Golden) Arrows just the other day and scored five goals. But if (Sunday) they struggled to even have a shot on target, then we should be worried (as the team going forward).”
Thank you for your support Yellow Family 💛 Let's go again on Wednesday!#Sundowns #BetwayPrem #RabatsenaGape pic.twitter.com/QDRhvUtEG0
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 28, 2024
Given the quick turnaround of matches for Sundowns, due to the PSL making space for their Caf Champions League group stage matches, indeed they need to get over their loss fast. Despite being an assistant coach for most of his time at the club, Mngqithi knows all about a heavy schedule, which includes juggling between continental and domestic competitions.
“We always have your match-day minus one, which is your match-day plus two. And it becomes very difficult to prepare the team,” Mngqithi said.
“This is then why we become reliant on training the team that we think we are going to use so that they have a little bit of training days. But when you have travelled, and you are away from home, it’s a little bit difficult. We are here on Sunday; we’ll arrive tomorrow (yesterday) at our base, and then we’ll have only one day to prepare.”
Yet, Mngqithi is not complaining about their tight schedule. After all, Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch, who will also play continental football group stages, are in the same boat as they are.
“It’s a little bit tough, but we cannot complain – every other team is experiencing the same thing. So, it’s better when we are all in the same situation and not just Sundowns,” Mngqithi said. “Everybody is in the same boat, so let’s see what is going to happen. Everybody is going to have to swim as well.”
Playing after every three days has forced Mngqithi to rotate his squad. But new left-back Asekho Tiwani has been actively involved in most of the games this season, making six starts already. Tiwani's regular involvement at full-back comes after Mngqithi decided to deploy Aubrey Modiba to a more central role in the midfield.
The Eastern Cape-born footballer, who was recently signed from Sekhukhune United, has hardly put a foot wrong for his new employers to the delight of his coach, who has sung his praises.
“That’s very impressive – I don’t want to lie. He’s one player that has surprised all of us when you consider just last season, he was a (DStv Diski Challenge) player for Sekhukhune,” Mngqithi said of Tiwani.
“He’s now among the serious contenders for the first team in the Sundowns set-up. He plays very well, and the good thing about him, which is unusual for a youngster, is consistency.
“Youngsters are usually not consistent, but not Tiwani. One can only hope and pray that he doesn’t get injured, as that will derail his progress and adaptation.”