Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso.
Image: BackpagePix
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has backed his team’s experience to handle the pressure of both the CAF Champions League final and a tense Betway Premiership title run-in.
Sundowns face an almighty clash against Moroccan outfit AS FAR in the two-legged continental showpiece next month in their bid to reclaim the trophy they won exactly a decade ago. At the same time, Sundowns are involved in a tense battle for the domestic league with Orlando Pirates, who currently lead the perennial champions by one point, although Cardoso’s men have a game in hand.
The pressure to play catch-up has, however, weighed heavily on Sundowns in their last two matches, with both Stellenbosch (1-1) and Richards Bay (0-0) taking points off the Brazilians.
The desperation was certainly evident during the closing stages against Richards Bay, with Sundowns leaving gaping holes in defence as they went in search of the much-needed winner against a team that has done well against Soweto giants Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs recently.
“I don't recognise myself in this kind of game and this kind of football at all. But it's what we have; we have to deal with it, and we need to take the consequences, obviously, of not doing it. But we knew, of course, that Pirates didn't win here and that Chiefs lost,” Cardoso said.
“The last 20 minutes were dramatic in terms of emotion management because, obviously, we knew that it would be important to get the result in terms of a victory.
“We played a lot with the heart, exposing the team in the back a little bit, so there were a couple of very difficult situations to deal with from Richards Bay. This is obviously fair enough to say, but also, I think we could, in a certain moment, find a possibility of a goal. But we didn't, and we have to take responsibility for this result, of course.”
With the matches coming thick and fast — Sundowns face an upbeat Polokwane City outfit on Wednesday — Cardoso also has to manage a growing injury list.
Colombian striker Brayan Leon, who scored both Sundowns’ goals across the two legs of the CAF Champions League semi-final against Esperance, is currently ruled out through injury, along with Nuno Santos, while Arthur Sales also limped off during the Richards Bay tie.
“A team that has to play Champions League up to the end, in a country where you have competitions one after the other just to please everybody, obviously makes us arrive at a moment of the season where we should be in top condition to perform, eventually with some losses,” Cardoso said.
“Brian got injured, and Nuno has still not recovered. Now we have lost Artur, but it's time for the others to show up rather than for us to complain. It is what it is.”
Cardoso certainly remains confident his team can claim the required 15 points from their last five matches to reclaim their Betway Premiership title, especially as his players have been in this situation before after reaching last season’s CAF Champions League final, too.
“The experience of the players takes them exactly towards the direction of finishing the league in the best way,” he said. “You know that after a Champions League match like the one — well, the two that we played — with such a level of commitment, of intensity, of difficulty, it's quite difficult to get back on track.
“There are five matches to be played, and two in a row we follow up one. And then we have a shift, then we have a solo Siwelele, and then we have Galaxy in the end.
“So, we have all the conditions to win all the matches; we just need to do it. Of course, we lost two opportunities; we lost four points in the last two matches after having 10 or 11 victories in a row.
"It's obviously not a performance that will allow us to take the championship if we don't turn it around. So, five matches, five victories — that's what we need to do.”