Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has admitted that his charges were horrible especially in the first period after suffering their first Betway Premiership defeat of the campaign.
Sundowns conceded an 82nd minute goal via Rise and Shine skipper Bulelani Nikani who slotted past Denis Onyango from Cole Alexander’s set-piece as they held on to claim the all-important maximum points.
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The defeat for the defending champions meant that Orlando Pirates cling on to top spot and are the only unbeaten team in the league, with Manqoba further adding that they were let down by their finishing in the final third.
“No, first half was horrible,” Mngqithi said in his post-match interview on SuperSport TV.
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“Let’s be honest, our first-half we were just nowhere.
“In the final third we could not make any combinations. We did get into the final third several times where maybe a better decision from Tash [Tashreeq Matthews], a better decision from Iqraam [Rayners].
“Those moments when you don’t translate them into chances, which is almost the same thing that happened in midweek.
“On the day, it was just not to be, and we must congratulate the opponents. They fought, they were strong, and we always knew their strength on set-pieces which is why we tried to load ourselves with aerially strong players to be able to deal with that.
“But I think we caught up in a game where not many things were going right for us.
“We had almost all our best players on the day but unfortunately the result was not to be.
“We knew it was not going to be easy. We never took it for granted because we know they are a team that always gives us a lot of trouble but unfortunately on the day it was just not to be,” he further said.