St Eloi Lupopo assistant coach Yassine Salmi says their defeat has nothing to do with the absence of head coach Guy Bukasa or Dieumerci Amale Mukoko against Mamelodi Sundowns.
Lupopo suffered a 3-1 defeat in the group stage debut of the CAF Champions League as Nuno Santos bagged a brace, and Marcelo Allende netted a rare goal between Ramos Kashala’s solitary effort for the Linafoot side at Loftus Versfeld.
It was a baptism of fire in what many consider as a Group of Death alongside MC Alger and Al Hilal, two giants of the continent, with Rulani Mokwena’s Algerian side losing to Sudanese outfit 2-1 on Friday afternoon.
“We played very well in the first half, but we lost a bit of focused and were not so efficient in scoring, but Sundowns had to edge, were more focused and that’s why they score two,” he said.
“Mukoko is a special player you know but no… I can’t speak about Mukoko there are other players here, if we win as a team, we lose as a team.
“It’s just about being focused, it’s not about the coach, or Mukoko not being here, sometimes we need to just put the ball in the net.
“If you see the match, we lost the match in the second half, why? If we had opportunities and don’t take it, you get punished… the next time we will work on our efficiencies and take more of our opportunities. We are good at home, and we will see in the next games in Lubumbashi.”
Lupopo will now host Hilal in their next game next week back in DR Congo, where they will use the TP Mazembe Stadium after reaching an agreement with their domestic rivals.
[Image by: Lebogang Tsotetsi]
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