Sundowns coach blames ‘sloppy decisions’ for Pirates stalemate

In an honest post-match analysis, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso attributed his team’s 1-1 draw against Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the MTN8 semifinal on Saturday afternoon to sloppy decisions and heightened emotions.

The result in a game played at a a sold-out Orlando Stadium in Soweto leaves the MTN8 semifinal tie wide open heading into the second leg.

Sundowns took a 1-0 lead into halftime thanks to a powerful header from Teboho Mokoena. However, the team failed to capitalize on their dominance and conceded a late equaliser, much to Cardoso’s frustration.

Cardoso acknowledged that the game was a contest of “different moments.” He had instructed his players to manage these moments and minimize uncomfortable situations.

“We also know that Orlando Pirates tries to start the matches very strong,” Cardoso said. “It was important for us to also start strong. I think we managed the first half very well. We dealt with their intensity… we gradually started taking control of the match, because it’s the way we should always play.”

Cardoso was pleased with his team’s first-half performance, despite moments where players dropped too deep, allowing Pirates to pressure them. After correcting this, Sundowns “started being comfortable.” However, the second half told a different story.

“I think we started the second half quite well, but then as time went by, we started losing the capacity to have all this brainwork, to think the right things, and the emotions grew inside the pitch,” Cardoso explained. This led to Sundowns struggling to cope with Pirates in the final 10 minutes.

“Their goal came from a mistake, and it cost us because the result should have been very comfortable. Now, everything is back to how it was before we started,” he concluded.