After crashing out of the Nedbank Cup semi-final by a narrow 2-1 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, a visibly frustrated Sundowns coach, Miguel Cardoso, addressed the media, focusing on the knockout goal scored by Amakhosi.
Wandile Duba’s opener and Ashley Du Preez’s subsequent strike secured Chiefs’ passage to the final, overcoming Teboho Mokoena’s stunning free kick for the Brazilians.
Read: Kaizer Chiefs come from behind to beat Mamelodi Sundowns and reach Nedbank Cup final
However, the post match comments by the Sundowns boss have been dominated by Chiefs’ winning goal. Cardoso held up his mobile during the interview, with his screen displaying Ashley Du Preez in what appears to be an offside position when the ball is played in the box. Indeed, replays strongly suggested that the goal was scored from an offside position, yet referee Masixole Bambiso allowed it to stand.
The fifty-two year old did not mince his words when addressing the incident. “It’s obvious that it is a goal which was offside. I think you all saw it. If you didn’t see it, go back to look at it because it’s clear,” he asserted.
He continued, “So when we work in a country that doesn’t have VAR, that’s what happens. So just go back and look at the images. You have the images, get the images from the TV, and there is a team that loses this competition due to mistakes from the referee.
“I think we are being penalised enough for the season regarding referee mistakes. I remember goals that we scored in games that we didn’t win away. You remember that game I spoke about, Peter [Shalulile] scored more than one goal,” he added.
“We are out of a competition five minutes from the end with a goal that is offside. It’s obvious we need to stand up, we win and lose together. Yes, we should have done more; nothing to say about the Chiefs team.
“They honestly fought to win the game. Congratulations to them and to coach [Nabi] for the results. We just regret that we didn’t do more, but it’s clear that we are out of the competition.”
The Nedbank Cup final will see a clash between Soweto rivals as Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates will meet at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday, 10 May 2025.