Morena says Sundowns must ‘grind’ to take down Cape Town Spurs

If there was ever a game where Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena could afford to give some of his star performers a rest, it would be against the struggling Cape Town Spurs.

The Urban Warriors have simply not been good enough in the DStv Premiership following their promotion from the Motsepe Foundation Championship. They have lost a worrying 12 games from 13, only registering a single shock victory against Orlando Pirates

Mokwena’s team have had a hectic schedule traveling on the continent playing CAF Champions League football and also catching up on the domestic front, where they have four games in hand over their nearest rivals Cape Town City, who are in second position on the log.

The Brazilians will play Spurs at Loftus Versfeld looking to shake off yet another slip up in the Champions League following a goalless draw to Pyramids FC on Sunday.

Midfielder Thapelo Morena called on his teammates to get over the blip against the Egyptian team and focus on the Cape Town-based team that is languishing at the bottom of the log standings.

“On Wednesday, fans must come again in numbers because they know that their support gives us motivation,” the speedy winger said to the club’s media team.

“We will have to grind more than we did in the last game because we know that wherever Spurs are, they will want to come with surprises as well.

“We tried our best to get a goal against Pyramids but it was difficult. We will dust ourselves off. It hurts but we have to move on because we have another game coming up. The investment we put in our preparation is a lot and that’s why this draw feels like a loss. It’s difficult in our group because all teams have four points.”

‘The universe has no budget for pity parties’

Meanwhile, Mowkena refutes claims that his side is suffering from an African Football League (AFL) hangover – they won the inaugural AFL last month.

“No, I don’t think we are suffering from that. We have a couple of situations but I don’t want to talk too much about those because the headline will be that Rulani complains,” he said.

“We have so many things that we can talk about that influence what’s going on at the moment but we have to soldier on. The universe has no budget for pity parties but a (AFL) hangover is not one of the reasons for our performances at the moment.”