Saturday, marked the end of a difficult two-game cup run for Mamelodi
Sundowns, as they lost both matches on penalties. First, they lost 3-1 to
Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 final, followed by a 5-4 loss to TS Galaxy in
the first round of the Carling Knockout.
Bennett Mnguni, a former midfielder for Sundowns, has expressed his
frustration with the quality of replacements at Masandawana, stating that
the Brazilians could have won both games if the technical team had not
been “experimenting” with their squad. In a one-on-one interview with
PSLSA, Mnguni believes that the technical team, led by head coach Rulani
Mokwena, should know better how to change and replace players in different
positions.
“Don’t gamble when you go to a game. With the players you have you have to
know how to use them correctly all of them. We can not use the FIFA break
(as an excuse) for losing to TS Galaxy,” Mnguni said. “If you look at that
team most of the players haven’t played together and we can’t play like
Galaxy. Let’s stop experimenting. If we are not serious we won’t win even
one cup this season.”
Mnguni believes that Sundowns have talented players, and that the team
just needs to know how to handle them. He stresses the importance of
making the right substitutions in games, and analyzing the players to see
how they impact the game.
“You can not take out Bennett Mnguni for Alex Bapela. Meaning you can not
take out a defensive midfielder for an attacking one if he won’t do the
job. I know we will still win games but players must prove that they
deserve to wear the jersey,” Mnguni said.
Despite his criticism, Sundowns were presented with a unique challenge of
having to play their Carling Knockout fixture just a day after the FIFA
break, with many players returning late on Wednesday after their trip from
Ivory Coast. Then, a few days later they played in their historic first
African Football League game, beating Petro de Luanda 2-0 away from home
in the quarter-final first leg.
Victory in our first ever #AFL match! Time to gear up for the return leg! 👆
Petro De Luanda 0⃣➖2⃣ Mamelodi Sundowns (67' Allende, 80' Maseko)#Sundowns #DownsLive #AFL pic.twitter.com/C5v6DXbdmn
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 21, 2023
