Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has reacted to Lebo Mothiba missing a penalty in their match against Polokwane City, saying he knows the striker didn’t miss intentionally.
Mothiba was a second half substitute, coming in after the hour mark for Peter Shalulile in Seshego on Wednesday, bringing on an immediate change as he provided the assist for Marcelo Allende to break the deadlock.
That was the only goal of the game and it helped Sundowns move to the summit of the Betway Premiership log with 61 points and open a two-point gap against Orlando Pirates in second position.
However, the 30-year-old was a villain that had his panenka penalty saved by the Rise and Shine goalkeeper late in the game after Khulumani Ndamane was judged to have been brought down in the box.
Cardoso said he knows Mothiba is a good spot-kick taker and that the team don’t dwell on mistakes but learn from them.
“I was looking in the back and a little bit also in the sky,” said Cardoso.
“I confess I didn’t really know what happened. I think the goalkeeper was going on another side so he tried to play on that side. Look Lebo is a very good penalty shooter, very good.
“If he didn’t make the goal today, it was not because he didn’t want just because he didn’t he could not. So it’s what it is.
“Teams get up in the moments that there’s one that doesn’t do something and go for that. We don’t relate with the mistakes we look, analyze them, we relate with the possibility to make better in the next ones.”
