No excuses — Miguel Cardoso slams Mamelodi Sundowns’ lack of intensity after shock Nedbank Cup exit

There was no search for cover, no refuge in rotation, no convenient shelter behind fixture congestion when Mamelodi Sundowns bowed out of the Nedbank Cup. 

Instead, Miguel Cardoso stood squarely in the firing line, offering a frank diagnosis of a night where standards slipped and punishment followed. Sundowns’ 2–0 defeat to TS Galaxy was settled long before the closing stages, decided by two first-half mistakes that stripped the Brazilians of control and handed the initiative to opponents who understood the moment better. 

On a day of shocks in the Nedbank Cup, Cardoso did not pretend otherwise.

“The team that played here is obviously not the team that played before,” he said, acknowledging the wholesale changes to his starting line-up. 

Yet, the coach was emphatic that personnel could not be the headline.

 “The level of emotional need should at the same level as it was in the two previous games, but it was not.”

That line cut through the noise. In knockout football, emotion often trumps structure, and Galaxy brought urgency Sundowns struggled to summon early on. The Brazilians attempted to play their way into rhythm, but hesitation crept in, passes went astray and Galaxy pounced with ruthless clarity.

Cardoso revealed the language used in preparation, describing the match as a “mission” — a word chosen deliberately to sharpen focus amid rotation and a demanding schedule. 

“We had to come and complete [the mission] in whatever conditions or players and with no excuses,” he explained. “But when you let yourself go 2–0 down by two mistakes, you place yourself in a difficult place.”

Those mistakes proved decisive. Sundowns were suddenly chasing shadows, their usual composure replaced by urgency that arrived too late. 

Galaxy, meanwhile, retreated into discipline, defending with the conviction of a side that sensed history. True to his temperament, Cardoso did not wait. Early in the second half, he rolled the dice with a triple substitution, removing Thato Sibiya, Kutlwano Letlaku and Tsiki Ntsabeleng. 

It was not merely tactical; it was symbolic — a public insistence that standards would be enforced in real time.

“We knew our bench could help us when we had to manage a result which should have been at least a draw at the time,” he said. “So, we can put pressure and possibly get a winner.”

For a brief spell, Sundowns surged. The ball moved quicker, Galaxy were pinned back and belief flickered. But cup ties rarely reward late awakenings. Chances were limited, margins unforgiving, and Galaxy held firm.

In the end, Cardoso returned to first principles. “We cannot come into a game like this and not take the responsibility,” he said.

It was a statement as much for his squad as for the wider football public. Sundowns remain deep, talented and formidable — but depth alone does not win cup ties. Emotional alignment, intensity from the first whistle and respect for the moment do. On this night, Sundowns learned that lesson the hard way.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Sundowns will have a short turnaround time to lick their wounds with their next assignment against AmaZulu on Tuesday.