Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi says their defeats this season were not because of Ronwen Williams’ absence and his other goalkeepers, Jody February and Denis Onyango played very well. 

Sundowns began the 2024/25 season with a 1-0 victory against Polokwane City in the quarterfinal of the MTN8 Cup in August, and Ronwen Williams was not available as he was injured. 

Denis Onyango started that game but didn’t finish it as he got a red card in the second half where Mngqithi decided to introduce February. 

The Brazilians further lost two games against Stellenbosch in the semi-final of the MTN8 Cup, before Polokwane defeated them in the Betway Premiership. 

Williams was not available in these three games due to his injury, but against Rise and Shine, he was in France attending the Ballon d’Or Yachine Trophy awards. 

As Williams was back in the side, Sundowns defeated Cape Town City last week in the league and Kaizer Chiefs in the Carling Knockout and he kept a clean sheet in these games. 

Mngqithi revealed that the games they lost this season were not because of Williams’ absence and his other goalkeepers played very well. 

 “It’s a tough one because we know his [Williams] quality, but I also think Denis [Onyango] had a very good game against Polokwane City when he got the red card, and Jody [February] had some sterling saves in the game, he played against Stellies,” Mngqithi said. 

 “Ronwen is Ronwen, probably not just the playing side but he’s also a very good leader of the group. We appreciate it when he does the way he does things. 

“But I wouldn’t want to nullify the contribution of the other keepers because I think they played very well. We made a lot of mistakes from inside, from the infield players. 

“There’s no game where you can say this goal was scored because the goalkeeper wasn’t of the best quality. It was merely poor defensive actions that got punished.” 

 Bafana Ba Style will face Polokwane yet again at Loftus Stadium on Wednesday (19:300 in a league game and Williams will be available in this game. 

This will be Williams’ first game against Rise and Shine this season as he missed the two games they played in August and October. 

Last season Williams kept two clean sheets against Polokwane in the league games, with Sundowns taking four points.