Despite holding a commanding advantage, Miguel Cardoso has warned his Mamelodi Sundowns players not to become complacent ahead of their CAF Champions League quarter-final second leg against Stade Malien.
Masandawana secured an impressive 3-0 victory in the first leg on Friday evening at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, putting themselves in a strong position to advance. However, the Sundowns coach insists the tie is far from over.
Before travelling to West Africa for the return match, the Brazilians must first shift their attention to domestic action, where they are set to face Marumo Gallants in a midweek Betway Premiership clash.
Cardoso stressed that the immediate focus must remain on the challenge posed by Bahlabane Ba Ntwa.
He then cautioned his players against believing the job is already done in the Champions League quarter-final, reminding them that football history is filled with dramatic comebacks. He also discussed the challenges they will face away from home.
“What is important to understand is that 3-0 is just a result,” he said after the match.
“Football has a lot of histories of comebacks on results like this one. If we don’t go in Bamako with a serious approach and with a very strong team and the right mindset, we can have a lot of bad days in the mouth because the game there is another dimension.
“Obviously it will be a dry pitch that makes the game slower in terms of capacity to take the ball out of the contacts that this team provokes. You saw in the first half three very ruthless falls. One on Tashreeq [Matthews], one on Jaden [Adams], one on Tebza [Teboh Mokoena].
“And also the temperature that we’re going to have there is very high, so the rhythm will be slower. Obviously, it will be difficult to play the game we want to play.
“But obviously the experience that we have and the players that we have, if they have the right mindset, we can make a good game there and fight for a result. That’s the obligation we have.”
Sundowns take on Marumo Gallants on Tuesday evening in Tshwane before their trip to Mali on Wednesday with a chartered flight – where their return leg is scheduled to take place on Friday evening.
