Cardoso: We Shot Ourselves In The Foot
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has described his side’s exit from the Nedbank Cup Round of 16 to TS Galaxy as “shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Sundowns were stunned 2-0 by Galaxy at the compact Solomon Mahlangu Stadium on Saturday. Cardoso admitted that the team he selected was strong enough to beat Adnan Beganovic’s side.
It was a disappointing day for the competition’s sponsor, Nedbank, as Orlando Pirates — another giant of South African football — were also knocked out of the Ke Yona Cup. Pirates lost on penalties to Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday.
Defending champions Kaizer Chiefs were eliminated in the first round by Stellenbosch FC, who were themselves knocked out by Golden Arrows in Durban in the Round of 16.
It means this year’s winner will not come from South Africa’s traditional “big three” for the first time since 2021.
Reflecting on the defeat to Galaxy, Cardoso said his side had enough opportunities to get over the line and insisted that the team he selected — despite several changes — had the quality to win.
“We need to look at every match. Now we have to play on Tuesday, so in three days we are going to play AmaZulu again,” said Cardoso when asked whether the defeat would give them more time to focus on other competitions.
“We need to see who is going to start that match and assess the effort we can put into recovery.
“We have the qualities to win matches, but we cannot go into games and put ourselves in this situation by losing 2-0 like we did today. This is a shot in the foot.
“With the experience we have, we must cope with the responsibility, and I believe we are going to do well. But we should not wait to be eliminated from a competition in order to perform well in others.
“We should compete in all of them. The team that started the match had all the conditions to win. But unfortunately, as I said, we shot ourselves in the foot.”
Following their exit from the Ke Yona Cup, Sundowns now have two major trophies to chase — the Betway Premiership and the CAF Champions League, where they will face Stade Malien in the quarter-finals.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Sundowns return to league action against AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday.
