Williams: Sundowns Feeling The Effect Of Pirates’ Loss
Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams says the team’s morale is low following their loss to Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 semi-final.
The African Giants were defeated on penalties at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, which has left the squad disappointed.
“Obviously, we are not in the good space we want to be in now,” Williams stated. “Still a bit down. The mood is not one of the best.”
Despite the setback, Williams says the team must now regroup for a critical Betway Premiership clash against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Wednesday.
“We had a big objective to start the campaign on a positive note, which was to go all the way to the MTN8 final. But it wasn’t to be,” he explained.
“We just have to dust ourselves off and go again. We had a nice reflection; we had a nice meeting to see the good and the bad moments of the past game and to reflect and just to move forward now.”
Williams acknowledged the impact of the defeat on the team and their supporters. “We are all hurting, we are sad for our supporters. But we are in this together, we are all feeling the effect of getting knocked out. We just need to draw on positive energy and support one another in this difficult moment. The big assignment is against Kaizer Chiefs now, and that is one we are looking forward to.”
Looking Ahead to the Kaizer Chiefs Match
The match against Chiefs will not be easy for Sundowns. The Glamour Boys are currently joint-top of the league table with nine points after winning their first three matches without conceding a single goal.
Historically, however, Sundowns have had the upper hand. They beat Chiefs in both league matches last season, including a 4-0 victory in the Carling Knockout. In their last 49 encounters, Sundowns have won 21 times, while Chiefs have won 16.
Williams, who has faced Chiefs 32 times in his career and won 16 and lost just 10, expects a tough game. “The next game against Kaizer Chiefs is going to be a big one,” he said.
“Obviously, they have started on a positive note, and their confidence is up. But there is no need for us not to go to that game with any confidence.”
He noted that while the team hasn’t lost in open play this season, there’s still room for improvement. “There is a lot of uneasiness, and you can see the team hasn’t settled down yet,” he added.
“But we know that we have enough to go out there and get the results. We have done so over the past few seasons when we have gone to FNB and got the results. We know it’s going to be a different ball game now because they have got confidence, but we need to go out there and do what we have been doing and give an extra 10 percent because we started games extremely well.
“It is toward the later stages of games where we have let ourselves down, and we just need to reflect and move forward as a team and just be better.”
