Cardoso Unhappy About The Fringe Players Against Golden Stars
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso appeared unhappy about fringe players who got a game time in their game against Sibanye Golden Stars at Loftus Stadium on Saturday, as they conceded two goals.
Cardoso, 52, put in the likes of Kegan Johannes, Mosa Lebusa, Zuko Mdunyelwa, Terrence Mashego, Asekho Tiwani, Tapelo Maseko, and Jayden Adams in their 5-2 victory against Sibanye Golden Stars in the Last 32 of the Nedbank Cup.
Some players started the game while others came in during the second half to play for the first time under Cardoso. The Portuguese tactician was happy about how some of his players performed on Saturday, even though they conceded two goals.
“Some of these players they played for the first time this season, and the intention to do well is very big,” Cardoso said.
It’s completely different to put a player than you set a big target, you could say Zuko [Mdunyelwa], [Asekho] Tiwani, and even Jayden [Adams] then you allow them to play among the strongest team.
“So, let’s understand the conditions and we conceded two goals against a lower division side. I’m not happy. We should never make these mistakes. But there are individual performances that I appreciate, and there are some minors that I need to take and look at in the videos.
“I will watch the game again and give an evaluation of their performances.”
The former Espérance Sportive de Tunis coach added that he didn’t make subs because the players were not doing well, but it was the plan they made before the game.
“I didn’t make any substitution regarding performance but most of the substitutions were planned,” he added.
“So, we followed the plan especially because of the results we had at halftime. We decided to take out Mali [Malibongwe Khoza]. During the warm-up, he was uncomfortable because he had a punch in the leg in the last game.
“So, we decided not to take any risk on him and that’s how we changed the structure. We also wanted to test the full-backs and give them an opportunity, and we did the plan accordingly.
“We also had the intention to put Jayden to play, we had the intention to give Neo Maema a free role. So, we won the game according to the plan we had before the game and that’s how we planned the game.”
The Brazilian striker Arthur Sales scored the fourth goal and Cardoso gave the appraisal of the towering striker. “I don’t usually comment too much on individual performances, but I think that Sales was praised because of the way he played in the last game,” Cardoso said.
“So, his doing his work like everybody. He is helping the team every moment when we give him time, so I don’t feel any stress regarding his performance. His doing his job and we continue to help him as much as we can so that he can perform in the best way.”
