Mamelodi Sundowns are not going to rest on their laurels when they face ABC Motsepe League side, Mpheni Home Defenders in the Nedbank Cup Round of 16 on Sunday afternoon at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Masandawana came from a league loss during the week and will be looking to advance to the quarterfinal round of the competition by defeating the Limpopo side from Elim. Being the only amateur side left in the competition is more reason why the Home Defenders should not be underestimated, according to coach Miguel Cardoso, who spoke at the Nedbank Cup press conference in Johannesburg.
“They are a team that comes with an ambition and a dream. It is our job to not allow that dream to become a true goal and from it an achievement. We have big respect for every opponent and we must fight to get a result. We need to perform at the highest level to get a result. If we fail to pay attention to what our opponent does in 90 minutes, then we can suffer or leave with a moment we do not want. We must play every game with a serious approach and big commitment,” he said.
For the fixture at the weekend, coach Miguel and his charges are banking on focus to see them through to the next round of the competition. He also touched on how important it will be to respect the match for them to get the desired result.
“We must focus on what we have to do in the match. We must face the opponent seriously and worry about everything we do on the pitch. If we achieve that then we’ll be able to control the match. We’ll emerge with a result that we aim to achieve.”
“These kinds of competitions that depend on the outcome of the result are always tricky. If the teams who think are stronger don’t respect that fact, they usually get dominated. We will focus on having the right attitude to face the game which we think is important. We need to control the opposition and by achieving that, we can go through to the next round of the competition,” he concluded.
Mamelodi Sundowns will face Mpheni Home Defenders in the Nedbank Cup Round of 16 on Sunday afternoon at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. Kick-off has been scheduled for 15H00, live on SuperSport TV.
I’m really saddened by the treatment being meted out to Kutlwano Letlhaku. The boy is very good and his progress is being delayed at the expense of the likes of Sales. I read somewhere that the boy is wanted in Belgium, but the team doesn’t want to release him. The boy really played well against Sibanye and even created one of the goal scored by Mathews. He’ll make a very good n0. 10 in the absence of both Themba Zwane and Ribeiro. Yesterday’s game was so boring anyway, it felt like I was watching those kasi Philly’s Thembisa games.
Seconded member,initially i thought he was injured and i was surprised he has been used at Diski challenge,we are delaying his progress,the boy can be the next big thing after Costa. He’s got speed and skill to do damage to the opposition,in my opinion he is the best passer of the ball in the final third,we can benefit a lot from his assists.Letlhaku is extra special but,i think red card disrupted the coach’s plans yesterday.