As Mamelodi Sundowns gear up to begin a charge for the elusive CAF Champions League title, their immediate task will be to overcome a strong Mbabane Swallows.
The two heavyweight sides will clash in the first of two matches in the second preliminary round at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville tomorrow (8pm kick-off), with the return leg a week later at the same ground as the eSwatini club do not have a suitable venue at home.
Masandawana, under the the new leadership pairing of Manqoba Mngqithi and Steve Khomphela, have been in and around the rampant Sundowns side that took the rest of the PSL to the cleaners with seven league titles.
But they have also fallen short of Champions League glory six of those seven times, following their maiden win under Pitso Mosimane in 2016.
A 1-0 loss in both legs against Tunisian side Esperance ensured the Brazilians failed to progress to the final after reaching the semi-finals in the past two seasons.
It is no secret that winning the Champions League will be one of the club’s immediate goals, but their recent showing in the MTN8 competition will also be cause for concern among the club’s supporters.
Despite the setback, head coach Mngqithi still believes that his side will bounce back from their poor start, but their mental state needs to be in the right place.
“The reason we didn’t win against Stellenbosch was not because we did not have the capacity to win. The capacity was there, but if the mentality and the level of focus is not where you want it to be, you will always be punished in matches like those,” he said.
“You will always be second in every duel and combat, and it shows the state of mind and the level of focus.
Counting down to #TotalEnergiesCAFCL matchday! ⏳#Sundowns pic.twitter.com/IHbwoacSWC
“I always say to people, you will never win a championship if you have ‘small games’, if in your mind you think you are playing a small team and we will win this one.
“Don’t be surprised that other teams don’t win the league, and it’s because they don’t play the so-called small teams with the same mentality and aggression.”
Swallows are the defending champions in the eSwatini Premier League, and Mngqithi recognises the danger they pose, and he has asked his side to step up to the challenge in the absence of the Bafana Bafana players.
“It is never about setting a tone, but about winning a football match. The dynamics of every match will always create problems for you if you come with a mentality of you’re going to score a lot of goals.
“The game itself will tell you which direction it wants to take.
“It’s very important to respect the opponents and not to go into a match with a preconceived idea that this will be a game where we need to stamp our authority.
“Go into a game with an open mind, and with the same respect we would have when we were playing Al Ahly and Esperance, because a game of football requires that.”