Mamelodi Sundowns need to learn to manage games better

Mihlali Baleka

Miguel Cardoso is still wet behind the ears in his Mamelodi Sundowns coaching career but he’s already ticked a lot of boxes across the board.

He is on an excellent run in the Betway Premiership, winning four games on the trot, while he won the November-December Coach of the Month award.

The Portuguese-born mentor has also guided the Brazilians to the quarter-final of the coveted Caf Champions League and the second round of the Nedbank Cup. However, while that’s been an impressive run, not all has been well for the Brazilians as they have struggled to manage the game in the second half, which is a cause for concern.

In their last Champions League game, Sundowns struggled to hold onto the lead against AS FAR, resulting in a 1-1 draw that saw them finish second in Group B. A week later, lightning nearly struck twice.

They were leading comfortably 3-0 in the first half against amateur side Sibanye Golden Stars in the Nedbank Cup last 32 but after the Virginia-based side upped the ante in the second half, the SA giants leaked two goals in the space of six minutes to the deafening silence of Loftus Versfeld.

Fortunately, the Brazilians managed to see out the game in the end, winning 5-2 thanks to goals from Arthur Sales and substitute Kobamelo Kodisang. Sundowns shouldn’t find themselves in situations where they must escape by the skin of their teeth, given the depth at their disposal.

Many of the Sundowns players who are on the fringes could easily walk into the starting line-ups of their counterparts, including rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

The responsibility to kill off matches and maintain the same tempo does not entirely rest on Cardoso, who’s still adapting to the demands of the club. The players share this responsibility as well.

The Sundowns players have, at times, taken their foot off the pedal, leading to concerns over ill-discipline within the team, as indicated by six red cards this season.

Bathusi Aubaas is the main culprit of this distasteful behaviour, having received back-to-back red cards after needlessly elbowing Mojalefa Mokhatla in the second half against Sibanye. It’s hard to pinpoint the source of their ill-discipline.

If it is linked to the changes in coaching, then it must not be tolerated. Players clearly got along with former coach Rulani Mokwena, who acted like an older brother to them since his promotion.

They also started to adjust to the father-figure presence of Manqoba Mngqithi, who had been at the club for more than a decade since his arrival under Pitso Mosimane.

Yet, the nature of professional football dictates that coaches come and go, and players are expected to give their all under any leadership.

Thus, it cannot be that they are still getting over the departure of Mokwena and Mngqithi to the extent that their emotions negatively impact their performance on the pitch. They need to do better. After all, Sundowns players are the cornerstone of the national team, Bafana Bafana.

Cardoso has vehemently denied any acts of ill-discipline in his team. If that’s the case, they urgently need to get their house in order: manage games in the second half and stop receiving red cards.