Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies have been a dominant force in South African football since their inception over a decade ago. Their remarkable success includes numerous domestic, regional and continental titles, as well as a commitment to developing players and empowering coaches, setting an inspiring example for women’s football in the country.
As with any other season, Banyana Ba Style begins each campaign with the goal of dominating the various competitions in which they participate. However, according to Coach Jerry Tshabalala, the reigning champions have started this season’s Hollywoodbets Super League in a manner that falls below Sundowns Ladies’ standards.
“The season has not started well for us and dropping five points out of 24 is not what we expect as a team that prides itself on winning. Unfortunately, we have been hampered by injuries to some of our key strikers, including Andisiwe Mgcoyi, Miche Minnes, and Rhoda Mulaudzi, which has further compounded our struggles upfront. However, we are using the mini-break as an opportunity to regroup and work on improving the areas where we have fallen short so far. We’re confident that with hard work and focus, we can turn things around and get back on track to achieve our goals for the season,” Coach Jerry stated.
The Free State-born tactician has urged his team to be more ruthless in front of goal when the league resumes.
“After reviewing our performance in the games played so far, we’ve realized that creating chances is not our problem, but rather finishing them. We need to be more decisive in front of goal to capitalize on these opportunities. Although we have confidence in our abilities, we must work on converting our chances into goals. While we’ve managed to score some goals, we acknowledge that our finishing could improve,” Coach Jerry concluded.
Despite not starting the season as strongly as in previous years, Coach Agnes Nkosi assures that there’s no cause for alarm for Sundowns Ladies.
“Setbacks are a natural part of soccer, but we firmly believe that teamwork makes the dream work. We encourage our players to learn from these experiences, adjust their attitudes and focus on putting in more effort. We have been working tirelessly in training to prepare for the challenges ahead and look forward to making amends on the pitch. The entire team understands what is at stake and is committed to working together to achieve our goals,” Coach Agnes stated.
Coach Koketso Tshabalala, who leads the goalkeeping department, is confident that the team will rediscover their usual form after the break.
“We have had to make some adjustments due to the list of injuries we have, which hasn’t been easy. However, I strongly believe that the team will soon be back to its best with more games coming up. As we continue to play and gain confidence, we’ll start scoring more goals and show everyone that we’re still the best. The team is working hard to achieve our goals and we will continue to improve and perform to the best of our abilities,” said the goalkeeping gaffer.
The Brazilians are currently placed second on the Hollywoodbets Super League table with 19 points from 8 games, having recorded 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies will be aiming to get back to winning ways as they prepare to face City Lads on the 15th of April.
Good to acknowledge that our finishing leaves a lot to be desired hence the need to reinforce our striking department with an imposing aggressive striker… We lack aggression and ruthlessness and rely too much on Oueen who is a midfielder