Mngqithi hints at less rotation at Sundowns ahead of TP Mazembe clash

Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi feels he and his coaching team are at a point where they can name a consistent squad and avoid chopping and changing as they have been doing throughout this season.

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Some of the changes that Mngqithi and co. had to make were because of injury and Covid-19 related cases, but of late, Downs are having a good bill of health and that is exactly what they need as they gear up to take on TP Mazembe in the Caf Champions League on Saturday afternoon in Lubumbashi.

While chopping and changing has been a thing, there has not been much change in between the goal posts as Denis Onyango has been a key figure for Sundowns, keeping 15 clean sheets in all competitions so far this season.

He is likely to be in action against Mazembe even though he limped off in a 5-1 win over CF Belouizdad about a week ago.

“One must also appreciate the number of clean sheets that we are getting. It means there is something right that the boys and the coaches are doing. There must be something right that the analysts are doing in making sure that they give us the right information to prepare for the implementation in all of the matches,” said Mngqithi.

“If we perform in every match, there is no reason to lose a match and we have demonstrated that a lot. There is a lot that has been working for us and our counter-press has been a big reason why we have been defending very well. If we have got someone like Peter Shalulile at the top who runs the way he does to press defenders, it inspires the whole group to be behind him,” he added.

“Yes, the credit goes to Denis Onyango if he does not concede but the truth of the matter is that we are working very hard as a group. There is a little bit of consistency in the team unlike before where we would change five or six players at a time. There are a lot of matches where we took charge and we were in total control of the game.”

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