Johannesburg — Mamelodi Sundowns’ coaching staff have continued to preach to their players that they play every game to win.
That’s to ensure the club don’t become complacent in a season where they find themselves 18 points ahead of second-place Royal AM with just over a handful of games left to play.
Few teams visit the Al Saalam Stadium in Cairo and get to beat not only the African champions but the third-best ranked team in the world Al Ahly in their own backyard. But Downs achieved that feat after a 1-0 win in the Champions League.
This win was not only sweet that it consolidated the Brazilians' spot at the top of Group A in the group stage with seven points but it came against Pitso Mosimane, the man who once led them to 11 trophies in less than a decade in the past.
But fresh from that victory, the Brazilians returned to domestic matters aiming to consolidate their spot at the top of the log standings. And boy, they churned out a spirited outing to thrash TS Galaxy 3-0 as they surpassed the 50-point mark.
“The truth is, such milestones have an impact on the team. From what we see we think it has had a very positive impact,” said Downs’ co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi after his team’s win in Nelspruit following that historic win over The Eagles.
“We were a little bit worried before the match that subconsciously there might be elements of complacency based on the results that we got in the game against Ahly. But we worked very hard on the minds of the players (to prevent that).
“My sincere thanks to coach Rulani (Mokwena), coach Steve (Komphela) and coach Wendell (Robinson) who made sure that we preach the message to the players and make them understand that we play every game to win as a team.”
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Downs may be sitting at the summit of the standings with 51 points, 18 ahead of the second-placed Royal AM. But do not expect them to sit on their laurels thinking that there’s no room for improvement when they travel to Maritzburg United.
In fact, Mngqithi is worried about the threat posed by Maritzburg who’ll host them at the Harry Gwala Stadium tomorrow night. The Team of Choice are still flirting with relegation as they are only four points away from the basement of the log.
“We believe that our players understand the importance of giving it their best shot and giving the respect that is required and never develop any form of complacency because our journey is still very long,” he said, heading to the clash.
The win over Galaxy also took the pressure off the shoulders of striker Peter Shalulile. Before that game, Shalulile hadn’t scored in his last five — in all competitions. But he completed the triumph with a goal after assisting in the first half.
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“As a striker if you don’t score goals you get frustrated, but at the end of the day there’s nothing you can do but to keep on going and working for the team. Everything has its time,” said Shalulile who’s the league’s top goal scorer with 14 goals.
IOL Sport