Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is satisfied with the overall performance of his players following their back-to-back victories on the last day of their pre-season tour of Austria.
Masandawana had lost two of their opening first three pre-season fixtures, going down 2-1 to German third division side SV Sandhausen, a 1-0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine and a 1-1 stalemate against Cardiff City.
On Friday, though, the South African champions recorded a convincing 3-0 win over Qatari Stars before their huge 2-1 scalp against Neymar Jr’s Al Hilal side, who are the Qatari league champions.
Speaking to the media upon their pre-season conclusion in Europe, Mngqithi expressed satisfaction with how the players applied themselves during the two matches.
“First, I was very impressed with the group that started,” Mngqithi said after the match.
“We had a lot of youngsters in that team. I think Kutlwano [Letlhaku] had a very good game. Thando [Buthelezi] had a very good game, but Lesiba [Nku] on the left as a full-back was phenomenal.
“And it was good for me to see these youngsters against these big opponents and starting the match for that matter, not even coming in late because I wanted to see them under pressure though I knew the’re going to play 30 minutes but I wanted to see what they can do.
“And I was also impressed with [Arthur] Sales coming in that match because we wanted to see what he can give us. His condition is not yet at our level in terms of our intensity. The work that he’s putting in and he’s very clinical. We believe we’re going to benefit a lot from him.
“But I must also say I was impressed by [Kobamelo] Kodi[sang] at right wing. I think he was very influential. He was unlucky not to score.
“And our central midfield of Lebo[hang] Maboe, [Matías] Esquivel and Ntando [Nkosi] looked very good,” he added.
“The goalkeepers also did not let us down. I think Sanele [Tshabalala] had a very, very good game,” Mngqithi added.
“And I was even impressed when he continued in the second-half. Our build-ups were looking very good, but the group that finished has been doing very well. It was expected that they should win this match, and to be honest, in my opinion, I think we could have scored more than two.
“There were many good situations that just lacked that final pass, that lacked that final touch or that better decision-making.
“Very impressed against a strong opposition. Against [Kalidou] Koulibalys, against [Aleksandar] Mitrovics, our centre-backs did very well, even on set-pieces to stay very strong.
“Impressed as well by [Siyabonga] Mabena. I think the finish for Lucas [Ribeiro] was out of this world and Peter [Shalulile] also looked very strong. Hardly in an offside position which people always blame him for, but unfortunate not to score more than one because I think he could’ve scored the goal that was a rebound. For [Aubrey] Modiba was a very good shot from him.
“Generally, very good performance from Marcelo [Allende] in the midfield three – Marcelo, Tebza [Mokoena] and Aubrey were very outstanding, and you can’t falter this performance. It’s a performance that says the boys are getting stronger and stronger and we started slow.
“Today, we finished with very good results. I’m impressed,” he further said.
Masandawana are gearing up for their MTN8 quarter-final fixture against Polokwane City on Sunday, August 11.
