Marumo Gallants head coach Ronnie Kanalelo believes Mamelodi Sundowns’ CAF Champions League elimination could have presented his side with an opportunity, but insists the Brazilians remain a formidable opponent despite their continental disappointment.
Sundowns’ exit from Africa’s elite club competition has raised questions about how the team will respond, with their focus now shifting towards their domestic commitments.
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However, Kanalelo was reluctant to suggest that Gallants had faced Sundowns at the perfect time, acknowledging that the disappointment of elimination could have motivated the Tshwane giants to respond strongly on the pitch.
It was described as a ‘failure’ by head coach Miguel Cardoso last Friday, as the defending champions – along with the coach who was in three consecutive finals in the competition suffered an embarrassing exit before the group stages.
“It could be the right time, it could be a wrong time, are they disappointed, are they sad? Sundowns are very much sad… to be out of the Champions League, it could have been an advantage for us, but it could have been a different opportunity for them for winning this competition,” he said.
“They made many changes and when they make changes with the quality they have, you have players that are trying to place themselves in the squad – you can’t say it’s a right or wrong time. The quality is good and they are very strong,” he added.
Kanalelo acknowledged that Sundowns have experienced setbacks before and understand what it takes to recover from disappointment. For Gallants, the challenge was to test whether the continental exit had affected the hosts while ensuring they delivered their own best performance.
“They have suffered before, it’s not the first time, but we also wanted to see how badly they had been affected, we gave our best – it tells you they didn’t take us for granted.”
Gallants finally secured their first win of the season when they beat Siwelele FC 3-2 on Friday to move from the bottom of the table and will be hoping to make it two wins on the trot against Golden Arrows before the next FIFA international break arrives.