Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has decried his side’s inability to cope with the tempo of the game before they found quality to beat Mageis FC 2-1 on Wednesday.
Sundowns came from a goal down to secure the victory in the second half, Lucas Ribeiro cancelling out Wonderboy Makhubu’s 12th minute goal, before Tashreeq Matthews won it with five minutes to go.
Cardoso admits his side failed to execute well the game plan as they had come out with the intention to play with a high tempo in the second half and then slow things down after the break but we pegged back instead, necessitating changes in the second half to freshen up the team.
Cardoso thankful Sundowns won
“We knew that we should have a very strong first half because in the second half, we could pay due to some of the fatigue from the previous match,” Cardoso told SuperSport TV.
“It is important to remember we played 72 hours ago in a Champions League match but we didn’t do it [play well in the first half], we suffered an incredible goal in a moment that we got a player injured and then stopped a little bit and the reaction was too late.
“To overcome that difficulty mentally was very tough so the first half was very tough mentally and instead of reacting in a proper way we let this fatigue fill us. So, at halftime, we had to do something to change the story of the game.”
Sphelele Mkhulise and Iqraam Rayners were taken off at halftime for Arthur Sales and Tashreeq Matthews and it was the two new entrants that played a major part in Sundowns’ change in fortunes.
How did the subs perform?
Ribeiro scored the equaliser from Sales’ knockdown while Matthews netted the winner and their coach says he knew the victory would come once they score the first one.
“We brought in some energy and attitude, telling them we just need one goal and then I knew the energy would be on our side and I am happy it happened in the second part of the second half so we had 20 minutes to try to go for the second one,” he added.
“I think we deserve it but very good game also from Magesi very tough job here. Teams here struggle even teams in the top positions on the table struggle here.”
Sundowns opened up a six-point lead over second-placed Orlando Pirates, having taken their tally to 33 points.
