Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has lauded Khuliso Mudau for his impressive performance in their narrow victory over Royal AM in the Betway Premiership at Loftus Stadium on Wednesday night.

Mudau was instrumental in the 2-1 win, scoring the second goal and being named Man of the Match. This victory propelled Sundowns back to the top of the league table, level on points with Orlando Pirates.

Mudau has faced recent scrutiny after being overlooked by Mngqithi, leading to criticism from Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos. Broos expressed his confusion over Mudau and Teboho Mokoena’s exclusion, highlighting their importance at both club and national levels.

“We were very untidy in the final third,” said Mngqithi. 

“We made a lot of silly mistakes in the final third. We could have wrapped the game in the first half because we had better opportunities to do that. But that final pass, that final decision, that flick pass it was casual and that cost us the game because we could have easily scored a lot of goals in this match had we taken our chances.  

“And that for me is the downside of this game, but I think the boys played well and it is just that it is an untidiness made a little bit difficult for us because at the end they could have easily scored at the end and then what?”  

While Sundowns secured the win, Mngqithi expressed disappointment with his team’s performance in the final third. He criticized their sloppy play and missed opportunities, which could have resulted in a more comfortable victory.

He acknowledged that while the team played well, there were areas that needed improvement.

“But I was impressed with a lot of players. I think Mudau came to the party, I think Mothobi Mvala was strong, Grant Kekana was strong, and I also believe that Divine Lunga did well in the game along with central midfielders was strong for the longest part of the game,” said Mngqithi.  

“But they were a lot of areas that we needed to improve in this game.”