Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi was not satisfied with his charges following their MTN8 semifinal exit at the hands of Stellenbosch FC at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday.
Sundowns were dumped out of the Wafa Wafa Cup last four courtesy of Bradley Mojela’s second-half strike for a 2-0 aggregate scoreline where they will meet Orlando Pirates in the final next month.
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Mngqithi applauded his defence despite conceding but was equally disappointed that his team were nowhere near to the cohesion they are looking for.
“To be honest, their low block helped them,” Mngqithi told SuperSport TV after the match.
“And I don’t think they were as clinical. I think our defence was much better today.
“But I don’t think we were incisive in our decision-making and technically did not probably give much in the final third.
“But I still think the performance was much better than the performance of Wednesday.”
Mngqithi heaped praise on his late substitutions even though they could not change the scoreline.
“I’m not panicking,” he said.
“But what makes me unhappy is, the team that we’ve been preparing throughout the pre-season and the team that has done very well throughout, at this stage, is not really clicking to the level that is expected.
“And it’s unfortunate, but it’s the truth.
“We are struggling with most of our key players, but I think the players that we brought in late, I think Kodi [Kobamelo Kodisang] did very well. I think Lebo [Lebogang Maboe] did very well and I think Thapelo [Morena] did very well.
“I think also Ribeiro [Lucas] was also very strong. Teboho [Mokoena] had some very good moments in the midfield.
“But it was just unfortunate that we did not create anything clear out of that,” he added.
Sundowns now switch their attention to the CAF Champions League 2nd preliminary round first leg tie where they will take on Eswatini outfit Mbabane Swallows on Saturday, 14 September, at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
