Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is upset after suffering his first loss in the Betway Premiership.
TS Galaxy Stun Mamelodi Sundowns
A first-half goal from TS Galaxy’s Kemogelo Sebelebele handed Cardoso his first defeat in eight league matches. The Portuguese coach believes that the team’s grueling schedule, which included playing four games in just nine days, played a major role in the loss.
“I want to stress that the players gave everything, but they couldn’t do more. Playing four matches in 72 hours was inhumane,” Cardoso told the Citizen.
“We had a few chances to define the game, but we didn’t capitalize on them. We hit the post with Lucas (Ribeiro), which could have changed the game, but it didn’t happen. The goal at halftime was tough to recover from.”
“I tried to make changes to inject some fresh energy into the team, but in the second half, we were completely off in terms of energy. The technical approach was also not ideal, given the fatigue. The players were at their physical and mental limit. They wanted to do it, but they just couldn’t,” Cardoso added.
Club World Cup Event Frustrates Cardoso
While Mamelodi Sundowns are excited about their upcoming participation in the FIFA Club World Cup in June, Cardoso wasn’t pleased with a recent marketing event.
The FIFA Club World Cup marketing team visited Sundowns’ training ground for a photoshoot with the trophy, just hours before their crucial Betway Premiership match against Orlando Pirates.
“Believe me, I was so frustrated yesterday, so frustrated!” Cardoso said, as quoted by IDiski Times. “We had the whole day to think about the World Cup, but we should have been focused on Pirates. I wasn’t happy, I know what’s ahead of us. For us, the focus is always on the next match, not the Champions League or the World Cup.”
“I had to deal with the activities that help us prepare, but our day-to-day focus is on the next match. Today, we analyze, we make decisions, and we focus on winning tomorrow’s game. Tomorrow is our training session to keep growing,” the Sundowns coach concluded.
