Miguel Cardoso believes Mamelodi Sundowns allowed Golden Arrows to disrupt their rhythm before another defensive lapse left them facing a 1-0 deficit in their MTN8 semi-final.
Sundowns controlled much of Sunday’s first leg at Lucas Moripe Stadium but struggled to turn their possession into meaningful opportunities. Junior Dion punished a lapse in organisation in the 38th minute, leaving the Brazilians needing a response in next weekend’s return leg in Umlazi.
Cardoso felt Sundowns lost their momentum after an extended stoppage caused by an injury to the Arrows goalkeeper.
“I think we had a good start until the substitution of their goalkeeper and that took us off our rhythm because it took about seven minutes to make the substitution and then we slept until half time,” the Portuguese coach told SuperSport TV.
READ: Stubborn Golden Arrows edge Mamelodi Sundowns in first leg MTN8 semi-final
More concerning for Cardoso was the manner in which Sundowns conceded. He drew a direct comparison with the goal they allowed Kaizer Chiefs to score in a recent Betway Premiership fixture, again pointing to poor positioning when possession was lost.
“It’s a similar mistake to the one we made against Chiefs where we were not properly positioned in the rest defence and then we suffered a goal,” Cardoso said.
“And it’s time to learn from these things because we can’t dominate the game and suffer the same problem.”
Sundowns will need to be considerably more clinical in the second leg if they are to overturn the deficit and maintain their hopes of winning the MTN8.
Cardoso, however, rejected the idea that the tie had been decided in Pretoria, stressing that his team still has 90 minutes to change the outcome.
“But this is also half time of the match,” he said. “Let’s see what will happen when we go to Arrows.”
Golden Arrows now have the advantage of playing the second leg at home, with Pitso Dladla’s side needing to protect their slender lead to reach the final.