Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso offered his perspective on the new faces of his side that played against Golden Arrows on Wednesday.
The Brazilians suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Abafana Bes’thende on Wednesday afternoon at King Zwelithini Stadium.
In the second half, Cardoso brought Nuno Santos, Bennet Mokoena and Tsiki Ntsabeleng.
After the match, the Sundowns gaffer spoke highly of Santos to the media, noting the positive impact the midfielder had in the game.
“The new players tried their best, I have nothing [bad] to point,” said Cardoso after the match.
“We brought in Nuno and dropped Marcelo to be closer to Teboho in order to implement the capacity to play in the middle. I think I have nothing [bad] to say, he did very well.”
Cardoso also lauded Bennet Mokoena, a recent DDC promotee, for his lively performance in the match.
“Then we brought Bennet, he is a goal-scorer and is a player that is pretty dangerous,” he added.
“I believe he is a player for the future and already for now. Obviously, he’s still very young but we saw him on the pitch, it’s like he’s been there for one year already, he was comfortable.
“He could have scored but missed the target but we felt his presence on the pitch.”
Meanwhile, Cardoso feels that Ntsabeleng still needs a bit more time to adapt and understand the tactical demands of the Sundowns coaches.
“Ntsiki is still adapting, even physically and understanding what we want,” he explained.
