Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso reveled in their win over MC Alger to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League.
Cardoso, personally, made it three wins from three over Rulani Mokwena, having beaten him in both legs of the semi-finals when he was in charge of Esperance whilst the South African led Sundowns at the time.
It was a nervy must-win fixture for the Masandawana coach and his troops, who held their nerve as Colombian forward, Brayan León, a January marquee signing from Colombia, bagged a brace at Loftus Versfeld.
“I think we made a wonderful match, wonderful… understanding what to do in every moment of the game, Champions League is this, Champions League is showing the understanding of everything that’s happening on the pitch,” he told SABC Sport.
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“We knew that we had to make a strong start and we did, we scored a goal, we knew they would change the dynamics, try and bring something else, but we knew we had to keep the ball, play the game and try to find the second goal and not drop [deep].
“These boys deserve the world, I’m so proud, today I feel proud from the energy we had from the stands… I made an appeal from the fans to focus on what is important and not distract from the way and the togetherness we need to have.
“The Ubuntu spirit was on the pitch, in the stands and it united us – this is the family of Masandawana – that’s all we have to be until the end of the season.”
Cardoso went on to praise his squad for having the technical and mental ability to get the second goal and keep a clean sheet with a disciplined tactical display on the day in front of a packed arena in Tshwane.
“When you play a game with a 1-0 advantage and try to protect the result, you can lose and we didn’t do that – we understood which moments to play and focused on going for the second goal,” he continued.
“We made some corrections at half-time and we brought the right attitude, tactically and strategically and good mindset, ice on the ice but fire on the heart.”
Sundowns progress as runners-up in Group C, while Al Hilal secure the winners spot – with MC Alger and St Eloi Lupopo eliminated in third and fourth place respectively.
