Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi admits his side underperformed in the first leg of their MTN8 semi-final with Stellenbosch.
A 62nd penalty converted by Fawaaz Basadien secured a narrow win for Steve Barker’s side at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium on Wednesday night.
Downs will need a significantly improved performance in their second leg on Sunday to overturn the deficit and secure a final place against one of Cape Town City or Orlando Pirates, who are level at 1-1 from their first leg.
Reflecting on his side’s performance, Mngqithi explained that Sundowns struggled to get going and only really started to play after finding themselves a goal down.
He told SuperSport: “We made it difficult for ourselves.
“Because we started to see the team that we would like to see immediately after we conceded. The speed of the ball was faster.
“We were looking to probe as much as possible and we created opportunities, but unfortunately when you don’t take your opportunities inside the box, you get punished with a penalty like this one.
“But the truth of the matter is, first half, we did not control the game very well. I think we were a little bit scattered.
“When we improved in the second half and we brought the centre-backs shorter to try and assist in our build-up, and I think we really started to look like we penetrated a little bit better from our build-ups, but it’s still the first half of the game. The second half it’s still gonna give us more.”
Mngqithi added that this result will be an important reminder to his team that they are not unbeatable.
“We needed this [loss] as well probably as a wakeup call because when you keep winning and winning, even when you not done exceptionally well, it creates an impression that you will always win, or you’re entitled to win. And I think this is very good because it will give the team a very good wakeup call,” he explained.