Cardoso Praises Saleng
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has praised the impact of Monnapule Saleng on his debut against Sekhukhune United, describing him as a player of high quality.
Saleng, who was signed by Sundowns from Orbit College during the January transfer window while on loan from Orlando Pirates, came on in the 80th minute for Tashreeq Matthews with the score locked at 1-1 against Eric Tinkler’s side at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.
A minute later, the former PSL Players’ Player of the Year injected life into the right flank, beating Daniel Cardoso for pace before delivering a pinpoint cross for Iqraam Rayners to fire home and hand Sundowns the lead.
Rayners later grabbed his second and third goals of the match with a superb strike as Sundowns secured a 3-1 victory — a scoreline that ultimately looked comfortable, though it was far from straightforward in the early stages.
The win saw Sundowns move level on 41 points at the top of the Betway Premiership table after 17 matches alongside Orlando Pirates. However, the Soweto giants remain ahead on goal difference.
It is shaping up to be a fascinating tussle between two of the most successful clubs in the PSL for the most coveted domestic trophy.
“Saleng did well,” said Cardoso.
“He is a player of high quality and is very effective in one-on-one duels. He can play on the right or the left.
“Unfortunately, I only recently started working with him because he was injured, but he made a fantastic recovery.
“We never wanted to put pressure on his comeback, and we still must not. Obviously, he has recovered, but he is still getting conditioned and understanding what we want from him.
“He can play wide or in more central positions, so don’t be surprised if you see him operating in different roles. Today [Sunday], we needed to maintain our structure because [Khuliso] Mudau was struggling with an ankle injury.
“We didn’t want to expose him in attack, and we also didn’t want to leave ourselves vulnerable in defence. So we decided to deploy Saleng on the right side, and it worked.”
Sundowns will next host Golden Arrows in their upcoming league clash at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday (19:30), where they will hope for another impactful display from Saleng.
