Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso expressed confidence in his team’s quality, stating he knew they would progress to the CAF Champions League semi-finals.

Sundowns secured a 1-0 aggregate victory against ES Esperance in the second leg quarter-final at Stade Olympique Hammadi-Agrebi in Radès on Tuesday.

The match demanded a herculean effort from Sundowns, coupled with a stroke of fortune. Esperance had a goal disallowed following a lengthy VAR review in the second half.

Sundowns also created several opportunities, notably Lucas Ribeiro Costa’s wide shot after cutting inside and Marcelo Allende’s attempt that rattled the crossbar.

However, Sundowns’ disciplined and well-drilled performance proved sufficient to secure their third consecutive semi-final appearance.

“It was not an easy match, but I didn’t expect it to be,” said Cardoso, who joined Sundowns in December last year.

“We knew what level we had to play against the team we were playing against. We should remember that this team played the final of the Champions League last season. But we knew that we had capacity and quality that, if we could play the right way, we can beat them.  

“So, the challenge that we put to our players was exactly that, how we could be strong as a team in order to beat Esperance. 

“I think that tactically, we approached the game in a right way so that we could, at the same time, control the offensive capacity. We should always hope the possibility of scoring a goal.  

“It didn’t happen, we didn’t score, but we were strong enough not to suffer, we were strong enough always to play the game according to what the game was asking from us. 

“I tried to help as much as possible. This is moment that I understood the importance to reinforce at the back and close the game and the players were so professional, and I can only praise them. 

I also want to dedicate this victory to the Mamelodi Sundowns fans in South Africa, who make us happy every day, and to the Motsepe family, because they believed in us. They believed in the players, on the stuff. Now, let’s prepare ourselves for the future.”  

Sundowns will now face the defending champions, Al Ahly, in the semi-finals this month. Cardoso, who lost to Al Ahly in last season’s final while coaching Esperance, aims to reverse that outcome. Furthermore, Sundowns have demonstrated strong performances against Al Ahly in recent encounters, including two instances of scoring five goals.

Cardoso described the victory against Esperance as a form of redemption for Sundowns, who suffered a painful semi-final defeat to the Tunisian side last season under his management. “I felt that winning on Tuesday, going through this stage, would really give something back that I took away and I’m happy because of that. It was time to split a little thing and make the other side happy also,” he said.