Mamelodi Sundowns head coach, Miguel Cardoso, has provided an explanation for his side’s disappointing 1-0 defeat to TS Galaxy in their recent Betway Premiership match.
The game took place on Tuesday evening at the Mbombela Stadium, where a second-half goal from Kamohelo Sebelebele proved to be the difference.
The loss handed Sundowns their second league defeat of the season, with the first coming earlier in the campaign to Polokwane. Despite a promising start, Cardoso believes several factors played a role in the team’s inability to secure a result.
Read: In-form TS Galaxy shocks Mamelodi Sundowns
In his post-match comments, Cardoso highlighted that Sundowns entered the game with high energy, dominating the first half and creating several chances. However, he expressed that conceding a goal just before the halftime whistle significantly altered their game plan and made it difficult for the team to regroup during the break.
“This game has nothing to do with the previous one, and the analysis after the match is always easier,” said Cardoso. “Obviously, we wanted to start the game stronger. I think in the first half, we had the energy in us to control the game. We had to deal with the counter-attacks.
“Obviously, from TS Galaxy, I’d say they are always difficult because they are quite aggressive on the counter-attacks, but we managed to cope. We controlled the match, but we were penalised at the end of the first half. It was an emotional and difficult moment because we went to half-time expecting to win, but we did a result of 1-0.
“During the second half, it was clear that energy, we were with low batteries, very low batteries, very difficult, despite the intention to try to do things. It was not easy to make good decisions. [The players had] very high levels of fatigue, for sure.
“We tried to change the players we put in to help the team, change strategically, approach differently, the positioning of the team in the pitch, but a lot of [TS Galaxy] players defended very aggressively, and stronger. We could not overcome that defensive system, and we got a negative result.”
Cardoso also pointed out the physical toll of a packed fixture schedule as a contributing factor. He noted that the team has been playing a lot of matches in a short period of time, which may have affected their sharpness and stamina as the game wore on. The coach emphasized that the quick turnaround between fixtures has been challenging for his players, potentially hindering their ability to perform at their usual high standards.
“There’s only one thing to do is look forward – get up, rest and recover. We were not the best in the world after the last match…We just clearly understand that it’s absolutely impossible to have a schedule like this and play the fourth match in 72 hours in a row.
“And so I think that we made also a big mistake by having [same players] to play a game in 72 hours, it was impossible. So, eventually, it was important to have a good game, [give opportunities to ] some of the fresh players to play. But we tried, we tried our best.” – the former Esperance manager said.
It’s a swift turnaround for Cardoso & Co as they have a weekend Nedbank Cup clash with Mpheni Home Defenders to contend with. Kick off at the Lucas Moripe Stadium is set for 15:00 on Sunday, 16 February 2025.