Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi refused to gloat after beating former team Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday.
Junior Dion scored the only goal of the game at the King Zwelithini Stadium after 30 minutes.
The Brazilians dominated possession for the majority of the tie, but Arrows had more shots on target and ultimately ran out worthy winners
The result saw Arrows move up to 11th place with 10 points from eight games and leave Sundowns with their first defeat of the league season, in second with 18 points – two adrift of leaders Sekhukhune United and from a game more.
Speaking after the game, Mngqithi explained that beating his old team didn’t give him joy, but he expects Sundowns to remain dominant in the South African top-flight under current head coach Miguel Cardoso.
He said in the Sowetan: “For beating Sundowns, I wouldn’t be looking at it as my former team and it’d feel bad if I want to gloat about beating Sundowns because this team has done so much for me and my family. I will always be grateful to this team. I never have feelings of thinking I am better or whatnot because I know this is a very powerful team.”
Mngqithi added: “I hear people saying this season is going to be something different, in my opinion I think this team is still very strong… it’s just a matter of time [before they are untouchable again].
“You must remember they didn’t have a proper preseason and we’re still capitalising on that. In the first 10 matches you can expect them not to be at their best and also the fact that they were at the Club World Cup took its toll, the adaptation from the Club World Cup alone should at least take close to a month for players to adapt well.”