A Mamelodi Sundowns win over Polokwane City will be ‘no walk in the park’ says Aubrey Modiba

Aubrey Modiba seems to know that statistics are nothing more than numbers on a piece of paper, with very little influence on the outcome of matches.

As he looked ahead to Mamelodi Sundowns’ trip to DStv Premiership returnees Polokwane City, the Brazilians’ left-back refused to read anything into their opposition’s previous match.

“The previous result does not matter. Right now, they just came back from a loss away from home,” Modiba said in an interview with his club’s media department.

“They are at home (against us), so it will be a different approach. They still score goals. It shows we cannot take them lightly.”

Sundowns visit Polokwane City at Peter Mokaba Stadium today looking to continueon their winning ways that sees them enjoying a first ever perfect start to the season, with Rulani Mokwena’s team winning five matches in a row.

🚨𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙓𝙄🚨

🆚 Polokwane City
⏰ 17H00
🏟 Peter Mokaba Stadium
📺 SS 202 #Sundowns #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/dTanMg2AhU

— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) August 30, 2023

Past records would suggest that they will make it six on the trot today, Sundowns having generally gotten the better of Polokwane City in previous encounters.

From their 17 meetings overall, the league champions have won nine times, while Polokwane City were victorious on five occasions, with three matches ending in draws.

Modiba was not about to read too much into those statistics, and instead called on his teammates to be wary of a wounded opponent.

“We are going to have to defend and take our chances, because they can hurt us. They have done well (since returning to the top flight), and it shows they are doing something good.

“I am not expecting an easy game or a walk in the park. They’ve got pretty because good players. (Oswin) Appolis scored two goals against Cape Town Spurs, and they have the big striker Douglas Mapfumo, a target-man who can hold the ball well, and he scored in the previous game.”

It all points to a tough match for Sundowns, the versatile Modiba admits.

But he remains confident the Tshwane club will reign supreme.

“We’ve got players who are able to put a good performance on the day so we can get the points. We must apply ourselves, make sure we do well,” he said.

“Our preparations are going well. We started today after two days off, been going well, pushing hard at training, so we can keep on winning and keep the momentum going.

“We know that losing one game can hurt us badly. We must keep on doing what we’ve been doing and collect the points.”

While Sundowns might be favourites, the fact that their opponents have won both their matches at home – 1-0 and 3-1 victories over Stellenbosch FC and Cape Town Spurs respectively – would suggest they will have not have it easy.

The good thing is that Modiba knows that much, and will definitely impress it upon his teammates, who will trot on the well-manicured pitch of the Peter Mokaba Stadium with good memories of their season-opening victory at the same venue over Sekhukhune United.

But then again, statistics and past records have no bearing on the outcome of matches, right?

@Tshiliboy