CAFCL: Cardoso’s message for Remo Stars’ game – Kekana

Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana has disclosed coach Miguel Cardoso’s strong message to the team’s players ahead of Sunday’s match against Remo Stars.

The South African champions welcome their Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) counterparts at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round.

The Betway Premiership champions go into the match with one foot into the next round after an emphatic 5-1 victory in the first leg played last week.

Ahead of the reverse fixture, Kekana warned that it would be suicidal underrating the NPFL side despite the emphatic away victory.

“Remo Stars are a good side. They are very aggressive and were man-marking us throughout the game. They made things very difficult for us, but we had the right attitude and mentality. We played for one another and in the end, our quality showed, and that’s how we were able to get a positive result,” the defender told Sundowns website.

The Bafana Bafana star further called for caution, stressing that Sundowns need to deliver the goods again on Sunday to be sure of a group stage berth.

What did Cardoso tell Sundowns players?

Kekana then shared what Cardoso told the players ahead of the meeting with the NPFL opponents.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves; we haven’t qualified for the group stages yet. The coach has emphasised that whenever we come off a good victory, we tend to drop the ball in the next match. It’s just about understanding what we did well away from home and knowing that we still need to finish the job. It’s only half-time, there’s still another game to be played. We need to stick to our guns and do even better than we did on the road,” Kekana said.

The centre-back then disclosed how Sundowns’ family feel about the PSL giants’ failure to replicate the feat of 2016 when they won the Champions League title.

“The Champions League has been a bit of an Achilles heel for us,” he said.

“Usually, we do well up to a certain stage, but when it’s time to go all the way, we fall short. This is a trophy we want the most, especially considering how well we have done in the league. The Champions League is what’s missing from this group. So, we’ll analyse the mistakes of our past shortfalls and aim to improve this season. I believe the hunger and desire are still there.”

The match will kick off at15H30 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport TV and SABC Sport.

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