Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has admitted that winger Tashreeq Matthews’ numbers haven’t been impressive however players are not only evaluated by the number of assists and goals contributed.
Mathews has had only one assist for the side in the last five matches, coming in Sundowns’ second goal in the 2-2 draw against Al Hilal in the CAF Champions League, a result that saw Sundowns in pole position on group C with five points, same as Hilal in three outings.
The coach had spoken about needing his players to raise their levels and when asked if Mathews is one of those players, he said the attacker will be assessed just like everyone and decisions will be made from there.
“Obviously, I also look for the output of the game but I also have to look a little bit deeper than that,” said Cardoso.
“Of course, we analyse, we are going to see what performance everybody is doing and like Tashreeq and all the others that started, plus that entered, we have to make an evaluation and the decision on them lining up or not lining up on the next fixtures.
“Anyway, Tashreeq has been performing some moments, ups and downs, like all the players, no one is capable to make so many games in a row. But it’s true, the numbers are not exciting, especially in the Champions League.
“But if you want to see PSL, you see how many goal contributions and how many goals he scored already, and you see that a player cannot be evaluated by just the assists or the goals.
“He needs to be evaluated in the understanding of the behaviours you want him to have in the pitch and if he’s not following them, or if he’s following them, and it’s from there that we need to take the decisions.”
The 25-year-old who joined Sundowns from Swedish Allsvenkan side IK Sirius in a reported R25-million transfer back in 2024 has amassed 77 games for the club, with 17 goals and 14 assists across all competitions.