Durban - Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rhulani Mokwena has pleaded calm amongst all involved after his side took firm control of their CAF Champions League quarter-final tie against CR Belouizdad.
The Brazilians trampled over their Algerian opposition in their own backyard, walking away 4-1 victors from the Nelson Mandela Stadium on Saturday night.
With the return leg set to take place on home soil next weekend, the Algerian media have already predicted that Sundowns are already through to the semi-finals of this competition.
However, coach Mokwena refused to be drawn in by the hype and kept his guard up, adopting a sense of calm given the unpredictable nature of the competition.
“Feet firmly on the ground, this is only halftime,” he said to the media.
He further stated that, “No (we have not qualified), stranger things have happened in football. We have a lot of humility. We beat a very good side and we still have to face a very good side in Pretoria. They have a top coach, top players and this is only halfway.”
The Brazilians looked a level above their opposition for a majority of the tie in front of a near-capacity crowd in the North. And when Peter Shalulile and Neo Maema scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes, it appeared as if Sundowns were just too good for their opponents.
Even with the anxiety of conceding a set-piece goal on the stroke of halftime, Sundowns rallied back in the second stanza, Shalulile again and this time Cassius Mailula, putting the finishing touches on a glossy performance.
When quizzed about the level of difficulty for his side, or rather the ease at which they put their opponents to the sword, Mokwena was quick to not downplay the quality of the home side and stated that it was due to their own application that the result came about.
“We should be under no illusions about how physically demanding this game was for us. We did a lot of work on the opposition,” Mokwena said.
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Mamelodi Sundowns thrashed CR Belouizdad 4⃣➖1⃣ in the first leg of their #TotalEnergiesCAFCL quarter-final clash in Algiers on Saturday.#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/hYtQJAano3
“We prepared and put in a lot of hours to make sure that the performance was good and we beat a very very good team. They have a lot of internationals, Algerian internationals,” he explained.
“The game was about small details and will always be about small details when you get to this level. We asked for a lot of concentration and a lot of sacrifice. The players also worked very hard in watching the opposition videos so we knew a lot about the opposition.”
The second leg will take place at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.
@ScribeSmiso