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Maema: We Also Want To Win Cup Too  

  • October 10, 2024
  • 3 min read
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Maema: We Also Want To Win Cup Too  

Mamelodi Sundowns winger Neo Maema has sent a strong Carling Knockout message to the club’s fans, stating that the Brazilians are not only competitive in the league, but are a force to be reckoned with in domestic cup competitions as well. 

Manqoba Mngqithi’s charges will host Lamontville Golden Arrows in the round of 16 of the Carling Knockout Cup after the international break, as Downs aim to lift the league cup for the first time since the 2019/20 season under the sponsorship of Telkom. 

The Tshwane giants suffered an early elimination in the last 16 of the competition last season away at TS Galaxy, who went all the way to the final and lost 5-4 on penalties against defending champions Stellenbosch FC. 

Now, Maema insists they have learned some lessons from their premature exit at the hands of TS Galaxy and has expressed his excitement about playing the first round in front of their fans as it offers a chance to rectify last campaign’s mistakes. 

“Last season we saw what we did wrong, and it’s never easy to play any team. But we are happy with this one, more than the opponent. I think we are very happy to play at home in the last 16, ” said the 28-year-old attacker. 

The former Bloemfontein Celtic player says they are not going to take the Durban-based club lightly despite being the favorites to progress but calls for the dominant standards set at Chloorkop to be met and maintained. 

“We have to be mentally strong, we have to come to these games with a lot of humility and never undermine the opponent. We need to make sure that we stand our ground as the dominant force that we are, ” Maema said. 

Maema went on to assure the Masandawana faithful that they are fully focused on winning every trophy, not taking any silverware for granted, as he is adamant that Sundowns can stake their claim in cup competitions as well – not only the league. 

“Coming to cup games, I don’t want our supporters to feel like we are a club that’s not so good when it comes to cup competitions, ” he said. 

“They just have to keep supporting us and believe that we are not only strong when it comes to league competition which is a marathon and needs a lot of consistency and it goes for the whole 10 months. 

“I just want them to know that even if we have three or four games to get to the final, we are capable of doing that.” 

Sundowns reached the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup finals last season, losing both to Orlando Pirates and were eliminated in the semi-finals of the MTN8 this term after losing both two-legged matches 1-0 to Stellenbosch FC.

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Hlayisani Magoro

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