‘This team has possibly suffered what no one has in South African football in recent years,’ the Portuguese coach said.
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has once again pleaded for patience from the club’s supporters after his side produced an emphatic 4-1 victory over Richards Bay in a Betway Premiership clash at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday night.
Sundowns’ timely response
The result came as a timely response following last Wednesday’s setback, where the Brazilians suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Golden Arrows. Cardoso was encouraged by the performance and insisted that his team is gradually finding their rhythm after what has been a challenging start to the season.
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“It’s very important that our fans permanently support our team. This team has possibly suffered what no one has in South African football in recent years,” the Portuguese coach said.
“There was a lot of impact from the FIFA Club World Cup and a lack of rest and preparation. We’re reintegrating players throughout competitions and we first had to work with Siyabonga Mabena and Kutlwano Letlhaku.
“Themba Zwane got injured when we were looking for connections without Lucas Ribeiro. The team is reacting, settling, and finding its way by being brave going forward. The team lost important references, we live in a society and spontaneous generation and football is not like that.
“To replace players that have a high impact in the team, it needs time and that needs training but we don’t train. We had two weeks of training and we didn’t have the group and when it comes to international breaks, 12 or 13 players go out and when they come back, they have different football in their heads and we have to gather them again.”
Sundowns’ victory was inspired by a brace from Tashreeq Matthews, while Iqraam Rayners and Malibongwe Khoza also found the back of the net. Gabadinho Mhango grabbed a consolation goal for The Natal Rich Boyz in what was a convincing display by the defending champions in Atteridgeville.
‘A big team … never falls twice’
“A big team can fall once but never fall twice and the boys understood the message and how to play the game,” Cardoso added.
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“The result makes the game look easy but it was a very difficult match to be played under the circumstances of the pitch that didn’t allow us to play good football. The pitch was big but it was not flat so the team understood the context emotionally and the conditions we were playing in.”