Cardoso Praises Impact Subs By Beating Sekhukhune With Late Goals
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso was a relieved man as he praised his substitutes for changing the game in their Betway Premiership victory over Sekhukhune United at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday night.
Sundowns left it late, with Brayan Leon and Nuno Santos scoring two goals in stoppage time to secure the win over Sekhukhune.
The defending champions once again showed their winning mentality, with the victory moving them to 32 points after 15 matches. They now sit three points clear of second-placed Orlando Pirates, albeit having played two games more.
Cardoso made a raft of changes to his starting line-up, handing a debut start to new defender Khulumane Ndamane, who joined the club from TS Galaxy during the January transfer window.
Ndamane partnered Kegan Johannes at the back, with the latter having been close to joining Siwelele during the off-season.
Another new signing, Brayan Leon, was also given a start alongside Iqraam Rayners in attack.
While the changes initially failed to produce results, Cardoso turned to his bench, introducing Peter Shalulile, Nuno Santos, Khuliso Mudau and Aubrey Modiba.
The substitutions — particularly Mudau, Shalulile and Santos — had the desired impact.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 91st minute when Santos produced a composed finish past Renaldo Leaner, bringing huge relief to Cardoso, who celebrated by pumping his fist towards the Sundowns supporters.
Santos was the beneficiary of excellent work from Mudau, who kept the ball in play before setting up the Portuguese international.
The second goal followed in the 94th minute as Leon doubled the lead after Leaner parried a shot from Shalulile into the path of the Colombian forward, who scored his second goal in three matches to seal what eventually became a comfortable win, despite not looking so for much of the match.
Speaking on SuperSport TV, Cardoso praised his squad’s contribution:
“Yeah, I think that today everybody who came on was fantastic — from Peter, Tashreeq, Nuno, and then both full-backs who came on and were suffering and struggling physically,” Cardoso said.
“The team understood the variations we created — a lot of tactical variations — forcing their mistakes, forcing their line, getting them tired. The problem is that sometimes people don’t understand the work that players do.
“Sometimes it’s not about the goal he scores, but what he does to allow others to score. I’m very happy with the boys today — the ones who played, the ones who stayed at home. This victory belongs to all of them. Congratulations to everyone.”
