Rulani Mokwena felt that Mamelodi Sundowns deserved to win their MTN8 semi-final first leg with Kaizer Chiefs that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Sundowns looked on course to lose their first game of the season to a 61st minute Edson Castillo goal only for Khuliso Mudau to find an equaliser in the 93rd minute.
While Mokwena admitted that he doesn’t want to get into the habit of celebrating ‘draws’, he did explain that scoring late on against Amakhosi felt like a ‘victory’.
The Brazilians boss said on SuperSport: “The feeling is like a victory, and I want to congratulate the football club and the players for a very good performance.
“[A] very dominant [performance]; 71 per cent ball possession against a team like Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium is not easy.
“And I think we deserved to win, but at the very least, we did not deserve to lose. Congratulations to the players for an incredible fighting spirit.”
Mokwena added: “I’ve to be careful because I can’t be a Sundowns coach and celebrate draws. I will get into big trouble.
“I don’t know how to feel about it, but there is a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for sure, maybe not for the scoreline but for the performance and process of showing desire and wanting to win every single match.
“And I think that is still very important for us as a club and for us as a team, and a big congratulation and appreciation to the players for that.”