Back to reality for Sundowns after fantasy win

Thapelo Morena says Mamelodi Sundowns are over the honeymoon of their demolition job on La Passe of the Seychelles, who they beat 15-1 over two ties to reach the Caf Champions League group stages. 

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Morena was the one who began the onslaught when Downs beat the part-timers 8-1 in the second leg on Friday, and 29-year-old is of the view that his team needed a result of that kind to boost their domestic campaign.

Masandawana are hosting Marumo Gallants this evening at Loftus Versfeld. The defending DStv Premiership champions will look to create some breathing space between themselves and Richards Bay, as both sides are on 19 points. However, Sundowns have the advantage of two games in hand.

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“We have been preparing very well and we really needed that kind of win to keep us motivated because we knew that we have tough games coming up,” said Morena.

“It is always a good match against them (Gallants) and we know coach Dance (Dan Malesela) went back there and that their style of play is going to be difficult to play against. 

“But we know that we need to pick up our socks and put our mind in the game. When they come to us, we have to deliver and we know what we have to do. We have been doing a lot of video analysis on them,” he added.

After Bafana Ba Style thumped La Passe at Loftus, they put on a show-and-dance for their supporters. Downs switched off just about every bit of illumination in the arena to a point that some supporters suspected loadshedding. Masandawana simply wanted to light up fireworks as a gimmick to get more bums on seats. Morena explains why:

“We want to see the stadium getting full and supporters must come in their numbers, because when they are in the stands cheering us on with songs, they give us strength and that is what pushes us. All we do, we do for them and we love them.”