Mamelodi Sundowns have put their celebrations behind them following their MTN8 victory and are gearing up for a return to DStv Premiership action where they will take on Maritzburg United on Wednesday evening.
Masandawana may have waited over a decade to get their hands on the Wafa Wafa trophy however the excitement and celebrations could not get in the way of their League preparation and plans. According to Downs full back Lyle Lakay, the elusive trophy should not cloud their judgment in preparing for their next opponents, Maritzburg United in the DStv Premiership.
“We won the MTN8 Cup, but we have to forget about that for now – in fact we forgot about it the day after already because we knew that we have a game coming up on Wednesday against Maritzburg, and also the coaches emphasized on it after the game that we shouldn’t forget about this game.”
Lakay spoke on the goals that The Brazilians have despite bringing home one of their biggest achievements in their careers at Chloorkop: “We had our moment, we got to celebrate and as professionals we need to be professional and focus on our next game. The guys are focused, we’re still hungry and we still want to win every trophy that is at hand, nothing has changed, the mandate is still the same, we are fully focused and we are ready to fight for the three points. As professionals also the coach doesn’t have to tell us that, we should just know that and prepare properly.”
United have lost half of the eight games they played this season, with only one draw and a three wins they will be looking to collect maximum points to prove their log positioning. Bafana Ba Style remain log leaders with seven games played without conceding a goal. Both teams head into the clash in good spirits after each won their most recent league encounter.
“Maritzburg won their last game against TS Galaxy, I would expect them to come out, obviously they want to win and they haven’t played since that game, so they got a few days off. I think they are fresher than us but we are professional enough and capable of getting the three points. We want the three points and we are gonna do everything to get it. The coach was there to watch our [MTN8 Final], he did his homework, but we also did our homework too just as we do in every game and we are ready.” Said Lakay.
The defender is determined to win their next game despite United’s problematic attack. With confidence and determination to continue where they left off, Lakay said, “They have a few players that are dangerous, most of the time they like to play on the break and both [Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Lifa Hlongwane] are very quick and they can play on the counter. Both of them are very skillful, those are the two players we need to watch out for and their striker, they’re main threat is the front three and if we can look after them and have our rest defence in order then we can maintain them.”
Mamelodi Sundowns welcome Maritzburg United in the DStv Premiership encounter on Wednesday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, kick off is 17h30. The game will be broadcast live on SuperSport channel 202.
