Cardoso blames luck after Sundowns’ penalty heartbreak in Carling Knockout

Mamelodi Sundowns’ quest for the Carling Knockout Cup trophy ended abruptly in the Round of 16, a shock exit that has prompted coach Miguel Cardoso to offer a spirited, albeit luck-focused, defence of his team’s performance.

The Brazilians were bundled out by Marumo Gallants in a thrilling 7-6 penalty shootout at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday night, following a frustrating goalless draw after 120 minutes.

A Lacklustre Night for Sundowns

Despite their domestic dominance, Masandawana looked strangely toothless against the Bloemfontein-based Gallants. The Tshwane giants failed to generate quality goal-scoring opportunities, leading to the tense stalemate. This early cup exit is a familiar sting for Sundowns, who lost in the final of the same competition last season against Magesi FC—a defeat that ultimately cost former coach Manqoba Mngqithi his job and paved the way for Cardoso’s arrival.

In his post-match assessment, Cardoso was adamant that the result was a cruel twist of fate rather than a failure of performance. He asserted that Sundowns dominated proceedings from the first whistle, claiming Gallants had no ambition other than to defend.

“I think this is one game we controlled from the first minute until the 90th minute, and the entire extra-time,” a defiant Cardoso stated.

The coach even pointed to his team’s resilience after being reduced to ten men, with Miguel Reisinho receiving a red card around the 50th minute.

“Around the 50th minute, we played with one player less, we were totally in control of the match,” he said. “We took the responsibility of winning the match from the very beginning…”

Cardoso was dismissive of Gallants’ approach, suggesting they were purely playing for a lottery: “And the other team found a bonus in penalties; they just defended and opposed our attacks.”

He concluded that the difference was luck in the shootout, despite his team’s tactical execution. “Today, we were in complete control of the match, no chances at all for the opposition,” he insisted. “But football sometimes doesn’t give credit to the ones that take responsibility, and when we arrived in penalties, there’s nothing we could do, it’s a matter of details, and details fell for Marumo Gallants.”

For Sundowns, the focus now shifts back to their Betway Premiership campaign after this unexpected setback in the cup competition.