Mamelodi Sundowns’ coach Pitso Mosimane fired a warning shot to the club’s rivals in the Absa Premiership and the Caf Champions League…this is just the beginning of what the Brazilians can do.
Bafana BaStyle easily brushed aside AS Togo-Port at Lucas Moripe Stadium to move from the basement of Group C and march closer to a place in the top two that guarantees passage to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. But the Brazilians haven’t been at their best even though they beat the Togolese side on Friday and Kaizer Chiefs in the Shell Helix Ultra Cup last week.
“We have the personnel to compete,” Mosimane said. “We just have to fit in a few guys in the way we play. We have to fit in Ali Meza and Toni Silva. Lyle Lakay came and fitted in nicely, along with the young Pitso (Siphelele Mkhulise) who has been with us. We don’t have many players because we don’t want to interfere too much with the squad because sometimes when you bring too many people you have to justify why you brought them and have to play them. That’s the danger of bringing too many players, you have to play them and you might lose momentum. This team has been playing together. That’s why you find the free flow. But they will get better and be quicker with each passing game. We are only four weeks into our programme. We will get better. I am happy that we won last week and in the Champions League.”
Sundowns’ win over AS Togo-Port will give the side confidence ahead of their trip to Morocco next month to take on Wydad Casablanca.
“It was a game that we had to win,” Mosimane said. “We didn’t have any other option if we wanted to continue in the tournament. We started very well. Everything was okay, except the last minute goal that we conceded. I am not happy with that. We needed a two-goal cushion because goals are important in a group. It could have been better. We controlled the game. We could have scored one or two more. But all in all, this game was more difficult than the game we played in Togo. We got the three points, that’s what we needed. We got what we wanted.”
Gaston Sirino stole the show in the win over the Togolese champions. The Uruguayan had a hand in both goals, scoring the first and creating the second that was finished by Vilakazi.
“He must carry the team now,” Mosimane said. “It’s his chance. That’s why we brought him here. This is the performance I went to see in Bolivia. He is capable of this. It’s good for him to give us confidence and hope.”
