Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi gives rejuvenated Kaizer Chiefs respect ahead of the clash on Saturday, and insisted a strong Amakhosi is good for SA football.
Sundowns registered their second league win of the season by hammering Marumo Gallants 4-1 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday evening and are currently level on points with Orlando Pirates at the top but have a superior goal difference.
Mngqithi hopes and wishes that they can continue scoring goals after Sundowns registered 14 goals in four games, including two CAF Champions League clashes against Mbabane Swallows and the Tshwane Derby against SuperSport United.
“It’s always difficult to pre-empt what is going to happen in the next match,” Mngqithi said after his side hammered Gallants.
“It’s our wish to see the team scoring goals, it’s our wish to see the team creating a lot of opportunities.
“But with due respect, it’s always important to give respect to the opponents because you don’t want to go in that match with a sense that you are entitled to get the results, or you are entitled to score goals because at the moment Chiefs is also playing well, and they are really a big force in South African football.
“And they still need to give the necessary respect that they deserve but be that as it may, we will try to give it our best shot and see what we can make out of it. Hopefully the Gods of football will be with us to score those goals,” he added.
Mngqithi also mentioned that having one more day to prepare for the match against Chiefs might help them a lot ahead of this big clash.
“Yeah, that day is gonna make a huge difference for us because it’s important to appreciate that because since they are playing tomorrow [Wednesday], and we have played today we’ve got a bit of time for our regeneration.
“And probably one more session in our tactical work to try and make sure that we refocus our attention and our structure towards the next match but one must indicate that it’s not going to be an easy match.
“They are going to be throwing everything at us but it’s good for South African football to have a match like that.
“It’s always nice when all the top three teams are looking good, I think it is good for our football and also maximises our chances of doing well in the continental space because it means there’s more competition locally which means the intensity of our local matches is going to climb a little bit which will be very close to matching what you are expecting in the continental space.
“I appreciate that a lot because I think it’s good for our football,” Manqoba further said.
