Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso expressed his frustration with the condition of the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, despite his side’s dominant 4-1 victory over Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
While Sundowns comfortably secured the win with goals from Lucas Ribeiro, who netted a brace, as well as Grant Kekana and Teboho Mokoena, Cardoso was less than impressed with the playing surface. Pirates managed to score a solitary goal through Deon Hotto, but the loss leaves them trailing the league leaders by a significant nine-point gap.
In his post-match comments, Cardoso explained that the condition of the pitch at Loftus Versfeld was far from ideal, and it negatively impacted his team’s performance. He pointed out that the uneven surface made it difficult for the players to execute their preferred style of play, which relies on quick passing and fluid movement. According to Cardoso, pitches like the one at Loftus Versfeld pose a real challenge, as they hinder the team’s usual rhythm and precision, even when they manage to secure a victory.
“Immediately when I entered the pitch for the pre-match press conference I said I felt the pitch was not in good condition, that was in the pre-match press conference, not conference, the [post-match] interview. Even before knowing what would happen, I said it myself,” he stated.
“For me, as better the quality of the pitch is, the better football you can get out of it. And for our team, for sure, we suffer from pitches like this, we suffer! So I’m not naive to say when we go play away we have bad pitches, it’s not bad pitches, not everywhere every time, but in some places, yes, but mostly I spoke on the pitch in Polokwane where we played, that pitch is very tough.
“But also the approach that is done, because I can confess that during the week every day I received a report on what was being done on the pitch. Our team of people, our green keepers, they were here every day working on this pitch otherwise it would be even worse.
“But there are things we don’t control. We don’t control the events that happen here, we don’t control the games that happen here. The stadium is not ours, so it’s not out responsibility the pitch is like this.”
“We fight to have it better, we pay to have it better, so we work on the pitch to have it better. And at the end of the game, I don’t know if you saw I was on the pitch, speaking with the green keeper and he was already explaining to me what kind of work he is starting tomorrow,” he continued.
“He’s gonna remove all the dry turf, he’s gonna work on it and he’s gonna plant 60kg of new seeds, so we are working on the pitch believe me. At half-time he came to me and asked ‘should I water the pitch’ and I said no because it’s very slippery, so with more water it would’ve been worse.
“So we work as much as possible for the quality of the pitch, I defend as much as possible the quality of the pitch because we want to play good football, we want to defend a spectacle.
“I even said to the people from the club, ‘from now on, except for the big games’ I prefer to play at Lucas Moripe [Stadium].”
It’s a swift turnaround for Cardoso & Co as they have a midweek Betway Premiership clash with TS Galaxy to contend with. Kick off at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit is set for 19:30 on Tuesday, 11 February 2025.