Tinkler: Sundowns’ Quality Shone Through
Sekhukhune United head coach Eric Tinkler believes his substitutions played a decisive role in his side’s 2-0 Betway Premiership defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday night.
Babina Noko produced a disciplined performance to hold the reigning champions to a goalless draw for 90 minutes, but a late lapse in concentration proved costly as Sundowns struck twice in stoppage time through Nuno Santos and Brayan León.
Sekhukhune, who enjoyed a strong start to the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season, have struggled in recent weeks. They have lost two and drawn one of their last three league matches, collecting just one point, and now sit fifth on the table with 26 points from 16 matches.
Reflecting on the loss, Tinkler felt his changes disrupted the team’s rhythm, while also acknowledging Sundowns’ quality.
“The substitutions,” said Tinkler.
“I feel for the guys because the guys who started did exceptionally well. One minute we fell asleep, especially on our left-hand side, we needed to put pressure on the ball, we didn’t put pressure on the ball, and we got punished.
“But that’s the quality that Sundowns possesses. We need to be honest with ourselves. You’re not playing against any young teams; you’re playing against a high-quality team in Mamelodi Sundowns. Players coming off the bench are exceptionally talented footballers.
“I have to congratulate them because they managed to get the goal in the 91st minute. But I feel for the guys who played the 90 minutes because they worked extremely hard, and I’m very proud of them.”
The 55-year-old feels disappointed with getting one point in these three games he’s played so far
“Disappointed that sometimes we play three difficult matches in a space of a week,” Tinkler stated.
“We can say Stellenbosch is having a poor season, but let’s not forget they finished third last season. Pirates finished second, and Sundowns finished first, and those were the three we were having in a space of a week. So it was never going to be easy.
“But now what’s important is to bounce back. Now we’ve got other games that are coming up that you need to try and collect maximum points from and not such high-level teams.”
Tinkler further added that not scoring even a single goal has made him worried, especially having created so many chances that they could have converted.
“It’s very worrying. But we had chances, Tinkler added.
“I think we had two great chances tonight. We had one on the transition; Langa possibly could have scored. Then we had the one with the clearance, where Denis Onyango came out. I felt Vusi possibly could have done better there instead of trying to go into his legs; he could have used his head to get past Onyango. And then there was a 3v1 situation where we didn’t take up the opportunity there.
“But I thought our best opportunity was that one from Langa, and had we scored it would have been a different story.”
