Aubaas calls for Sundowns improvement ahead of Gallants clash

Mamelodi Sundowns are back on the road again, and this time, their Betway Premiership title defence pits them against Marumo Gallants at Dr Molemela Stadium in the Free State province. 

Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso used a second-string side for their last encounter against amateur side Mpheni Home Defenders in the Nedbank Cup round of 16 on Sunday.

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Cardoso is expected to recall some of his big guns to the starting XI against Gallants on Wednesday. However, midfielder Bathusi Aubaas is hoping to keep his place in the team after scoring in the 2-0 win over Defenders.

“First of all, I’d like to thank the man above because if you get an opportunity like this, you have to raise your hand and continue to work hard,” Aubaas said to the Brazilians media team following his Player of the Match performance against the ABC Motsepe League side.

“We have a lot of quality players, so obviously I have to raise my hand and show the coach that I can be ready to play each and every game.”

14th-placed Gallants might be struggling in the league, but they come into the game on the back of a morale-boosting narrow 1-0 win over AmaZulu in the Nedbank Cup. Dan Malesela’s team will provide a tougher assignment than Defenders, and Aubaas has called on his teammates to put in an improved display in the tricky league encounter.

“I think we could’ve still done much better, and it’s just that we still need to fix some individual errors by going back to the drawing board and fixing the mistakes that we made in the last game,” Aubaas added.

“We obviously have to keep on working hard and humble ourselves because there’s nothing that comes easy in life. When you get an opportunity, you have to show the coach that you’re here to play for the badge and not for yourself.”

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Before their cup game, Masandawana were humbled by TS Galaxy in a league match at Mbombela Stadium. Sundowns will be without attacker Tashreeq Matthews who was sent off in their previous match. In his absence, Peter Shalulile and Lucas Ribeiro are expected to lead the frontline.