JOHANNESBURG – Pitso Mosimane is unfazed by his team’s poor record against Cape Town City.
The Mamelodi Sundowns coach leads his charges to the Mother City on Friday for the Absa Premiership’s top-of-the-table clash against a side that has become somewhat of a hoodoo team for the Brazilians.
As recently as December, City beat Sundowns 1-0 at Loftus to bring their impressive seven-game unbeaten run, which had pushed Mosimane’s men to the top of the log, to a screeching halt, souring their Christmas break as a result.
“They scored that one goal from 25 percent ball position,” said Mosimane, pictured. “We played Kaizer Chiefs (the goalless draw at the weekend), and that was a big game, a Caf Champions League game. Our game against City is not as big.”
Mosimane suggested that Sundowns were again likely to enjoy dominance over Benni McCarthy’s City, a team they crippled in this January transfer window by luring away their talisman Aubrey Ngoma who was an unused substitute against Chiefs, but is fit to face his former teammates at Athlone Stadium.
City trail Sundowns by four points after 19 matches and have won all three league encounters against the Brazilians since being established last season after businessman John Comitis purchased the Mpumalanga Black Aces franchise and moved the club to Cape Town.
McCarthy’s side missed out on a chance to close the gap to just two points when Bloemfontein Celtic held them to a 1-1 draw a day following the stalemate between Chiefs and Sundowns at FNB Stadium on Saturday night.
Mosi-mane suggested he would revert back to a more aggressive approach at City, having employed cautions tactics against Chiefs at a venue where Sundowns had not been able to win in three seasons, an unwanted record which stretched to four by the end of the night.
“I think Anele (Ngcongca) should be back to play in Cape Town because Thapelo Morena is still struggling. The game there, in terms of tactics and energy will not be the same,” Mosimane explained.
“I know you can say we lost to them (City) three times, but I think it was 75-25 percent when we lost to them.
“Yes, they won, but that game is not the same as the Chiefs game.”
City will still be missing the influence of their coach McCarthy on the bench as he is still serving a suspension. He was sent to the stands during the Cape Town derby.