“I Sensed A Red Card”: Cardoso Reveals Halftime Decision As Sundowns Outclass Siwelele
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso revealed that he substituted Khulumane Ndamane at halftime to avoid a red card, while expressing delight at Mothobi Mvala’s return to action during Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Siwelele.
After struggling to break down a resilient Siwelele defense that restricted space in the opening period, Sundowns pulled away in the second half at Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Second-half strikes from Kutlwano Letlhaku, Siyanda Ndlovu, and Tashreeq Matthews secured all three points for the home side.
The win lifted the African giants to 19 points from seven matches—opening a six-point gap over second-placed Orlando Pirates, who hold two games in hand.
Ndamane, who received a first-half yellow card for tugging the shirt of Cristian Saile, was withdrawn before the start of the second half. His replacement, Mvala, made his first appearance of the calendar year following an extended injury layoff.
“We decided to take Ndamane off because of the yellow card,” Cardoso told SuperSport TV after the match.
“It is always dangerous against teams that rely on transition; in a duel, you can easily get a second yellow card while the match is still 0-0.”
“We decided to bring on Mothobi, and I’m very happy to see him back after such a long injury layoff. He played very well. Congratulations also to Malibongwe Khoza [on winning Man of the Match]; we know the future of Sundowns rests with these young players. He showed real maturity tonight. The more experience we give him, the better he will become. Bravo to him, and bravo to the team. It was a beautiful performance, defensively as well.”
Sundowns will aim to extend their lead at the top of the Betway Premiership table to nine points when they travel to Buffalo City Stadium to face Chippa United on Saturday.
