Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso believes his side showed a stronger desire to win during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium, while admitting that securing a point was ultimately important.
Sundowns arrived at the encounter looking to build momentum in the early stages of the league campaign but had to settle for a share of the spoils after Chiefs took the lead before the visitors fought back to level matters.
For Cardoso, the result was disappointing from the perspective of Sundowns’ ambition, but he was encouraged by the approach of his team from the opening whistle.
“I think that for the people who saw the match, it’s clear we had the intention to win this match, when the game started, we moved forward and we came here with the intention to win the match,” Cardoso said.
The Portuguese coach stressed that it remains far too early to discuss the title race, with Sundowns focused instead on collecting points consistently as the season progresses.
“We want to have more points in the league as matches go by, it’s very early to speak about [the title], there’s a long way in front of us, match by match, the right approach to have in this league, where matches are so tricky,” he explained.
“You saw the last one where we had to fight until the last minute [against TS Galaxy] and today we did the same.”
Cardoso believes Sundowns need to demonstrate character throughout matches, rather than relying on late comebacks to secure results.
“What’s important is that we show character to fight for results until the last minute but also show character to fight for results since the first minute,” he said.
“I don’t like when matches at the end, I prefer to win them in the beginning, we can manage context, we can manage players better, and try tactical approaches, give game time to others.”
Despite their ambition to win, Cardoso acknowledged that avoiding defeat was also important in a closely contested encounter where neither side wanted to give away points.
“I think today was important not to lose the match, both teams didn’t want to lose today – we were stronger for the intention to win, and showed that on the pitch,” Cardoso said.
“Chiefs held and understood that a mistake from a transition could arrive and it did, and sometimes you can win games like that.”
The Sundowns coach also praised the quality of the contest, believing the encounter demonstrated the standard and competitive nature of South African football.
“We saw a match that I really appreciate inside the pitch which is important for South Africa in showing the quality that exists and sometimes we don’t see but today was clear and it stayed inside the pitch,” he concluded.
Sundowns will now turn their attention to the next challenge as they look to continue collecting points and build momentum in the early stages of the league campaign.
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