Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena says there was no specific plan to target Patrick Maswanganyi in their 1-0 win over Orlando Pirates on Wednesday evening.
Sundowns secured their seventh win from seven games to open the 2023/24 DStv Premiership season, with the latest coming at Orlando Stadium, courtesy of a Lucas Ribeiro Costa penalty.
And one of the particular key factors in the win was their ability to nullify in-form playmaker Maswanganyi, Monnapule Saleng and Zakhele Lepasa.
“The greatest benefit of coaching Black Poison is that I get to be right at the heart of where football is, so I’ve seen Maswanganyi play and I’ve seen him play freely,” Mokwena said in the post-match press conference.
“I know what he can do, I’ve seen Zakhele Lepasa in a Cup final, Black Poison versus Snekeneke Chillaz, yes, and scoring against Black Poison. So many people say ‘yes this one is obsessed with football he has no social life’.
“But the truth is it helps me to have information of who the players are coming up, what they are strong at and that background information helps a bit. But no we don’t plan around any single individual but we do a lot of work behind the scenes.”
Sundowns have now moved up to 21 points, seven ahead of second-placed Golden Arrows and now turn their attention to the second leg MTN8 semi-final against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.
