The Mamelodi Sundowns Reserve team put in an outstanding performance against Orlando Pirates in the Diski Rewired tournament to earn themselves a spot in the semi-finals, winning with a last minute goal.
Captain of the side and goalkeeper Glen Baadjies spoke on the importance of the win and how much it meant to the team: “We really wanted to win it and we’ve been up for it since the first game. There were challenges in the beginning of this tournament, we won some games and lost others too but I’m happy that the players didn’t go down after the games that we lost (against Baroka and Kaizer Chiefs), we put our heads up and looked forward to playing other games.”
Abafana BaStyle went into the encounter coming from a victorious trip to Polokwane which proved to be the drive behind their resilience in the final stream game. “Our 6-0 win against Tshakhuma (TTM) was a good confidence booster and we are more confident after the game we played against Pirates, we are going to do our best.” said Baadjies confidently.
The Brazilian’s captain says his team have polished up where they previously fell short in the tournament: “We have improved our game and I don’t think we are going to drop in the game against City. We will push and make sure that we go through to the finals.”
Having played in high level competition in the past, Baadjies is confident ahead of the battle that lies ahead that is going to demand everyone to play their role: “Playing semi-finals against Cape Town City won’t be an easy game, they are also motivated and we know that every team that plays against Sundowns wants to prove that they are better than us. Most of the players that are playing with us now, it will be their first time playing in the MDC and as a captain, I must give them more experience when it comes to difficult games. I have to motivate them more to keep going until the end.”
Diski team Head Coach Surprise Moriri also shared his preview ahead of Saturday’s game against the team from the Mother City: “We are looking forward to that game, Cape Town City finished first in their stream and it’s going to be a very interesting game I must say. We have watched a couple of their games and they are a decent team that play good football and they have good quality players. We will be ready for them and we will make sure that we give our best to achieve our aim to qualify for the final.”
Mamelodi Sundowns Reserve Side meet Cape Town City Reserves in the Diski Rewired tournament semi-finals on Saturday 22 May at Makhulong Stadium, Kick-off is 9:30.