Mamelodi Sundowns First Team Coach Steve Komphela admits Stellenbosch poses a threat to their ambitions of winning the Nedbank Cup title.
Sundowns were drawn against the free-scoring Stellies who’ve netted 21 goals in their last nine games – which included the 1-1 draw against Masadawana at Danie Craven and ended their 15-match record of consecutive wins in the DStv Premiership.
Steve Barker’s side have shown a clear identity this season with an extremely youthful squad that presses high and looks to suffocate their opposition and force them into mistakes, but injuries and a loss of a few key players saw them struggle in the early stages of the new season.
The return of Iqraam Rayners has seemingly been the catalyst for change as the 27-year-old closed the gap the departure of Ashley du Preez to Kaizer Chiefs created in their front-line.
“It was a tough one and we knew as we went there that it was not going to be easy knowing what they are capable of and testimony of that is what happened [against TS Galaxy], make no mistake, Galaxy are a hell of a good team, defensively they are solid but getting six past their defence, says a lot,” Komphela said on the Nedbank Cup draw.
“But we’ll go to Cape Town and unfortunately for us, our brief and responsibility has always remained the same, we have to defend [the title].”
When asked why Stellies have been such a thorn to Masandawana, having beaten them 3-0 in the league last season, Komphela stated their movement up top is what makes them stand out from the rest.
“We had a small discussion with Stevie before the previous one, and one of the discussion lines were upfront, their movement on top is quite fascinating and what happened [six goals against Galaxy] is not a surprise to us because it is clear what they do,” he added.
“And based on that, we went to Cape Town, aware of that, we still suffered a setback, so we’ll have to go there, they keep doing this and they do it so well, so we have to respect it.”
