Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has insisted his side played “with no brain” for large parts of the first half.
Masandawana lost 2-1 to Orlando Pirates after they were shocked by two early Relebohile Mofokeng goals in the first five minutes.
Cardoso insisted his side’s poor start ultimately resulted in their defeat while they were also undone by Pirates stop-start strategy in the second half.
“When you start a game like this, you should not expect good things,” he said on SuperSport TV.
“I can only commend that we had a good reaction after the goal until 25th minutes, and then we played until half-time with the heart, but no brain. The brain stayed in the locker room, and football is mostly played with the brain.
“On the second half, we brought a little bit more brain on the pitch. Unfortunately, there was a period of 15 minutes after our game that the referee allowed not to play no one.
“Everybody falling on the ground. No football. It’s a shame, but it’s what we have, and that took out our energy.
“If it was a strategy, it was a good strategy, because it took our energy out. We were punished by the beginning. Nothing more to say.”
