AmaZulu head coach Arthur Zwane believes Mamelodi Sundowns’ ability to prioritise certain competitions and field their strongest available team has made life particularly difficult for his side in their recent meetings.
Zwane was speaking after AmaZulu suffered a heavy defeat to Sundowns, with the Usuthu coach acknowledging the quality of their opponents while pointing to the difference in the line-ups Sundowns have used across competitions.
The former Kaizer Chiefs coach believes Sundowns have shown a clear approach when it comes to the league and CAF Champions League, where they have consistently raised their intensity and selected their strongest available players.
“Sundowns prioritise… there’s games for them. Like the Champions League, you could see it was the target, this season it’s the league and Champions League, when it comes to [these competitions] Sundowns don’t play games, they come full force,” Zwane said.
Zwane highlighted Sundowns’ recent team selection as an example, comparing the side that faced Golden Arrows over the weekend with the team that lined up against AmaZulu.
“Look at the team who played Golden Arrows over the weekend, then you look at the team who played us – you get what I mean? It’s probably the fourth time we play Sundowns, where they come with this, all their best players available for selection.”
AmaZulu had hoped to exploit any changes in Sundowns’ line-up and prove that the defending champions could be beaten regardless of who they selected.
However, Zwane admitted his side were unable to produce the performance required to get a positive result, while expressing concern over the manner in which they conceded three goals after the break.
“But we needed to show it doesn’t matter who they play when it’s 11v11 on the field – and we really wanted to give our best today, to make sure we get positive results and it wasn’t to be,” he added.
“The only worrying factor our side is how we conceded certain goals. The three in the second half was poor at the back.”
While Zwane pointed to Sundowns’ selection and priorities as part of the challenge, he ultimately placed the focus on his own team’s defensive shortcomings.
AmaZulu will now have to regroup and address those issues as they look to build consistency, with Zwane keen for his side to learn from another difficult encounter against one of the strongest teams in the Premier Soccer League.
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