Mngqithi left unimpressed after Sundowns suffer first defeat of the season

Having suffered their first loss of the season, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mnqithi wasn’t impressed with the way the team played on the day against AmaZulu FC.

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Sundowns, who were unbeaten in the league prior to this game, suffered a 1-0 loss to Usuthu at the Jonsson Kings Park Stadium on Monday.

The loss does not look bad for Sundowns at the moment though as the Pretoria side remain at the summit of the DStv Premiership table with a 16 points gap.

The Brazilians have 43 points in their last 18 matches, with second placed Orlando Pirates only on 27 points.

Despite this, Mngqithi was still disappointed with his side’s play, especially with the way they conceded the goal.

“To be honest, I don’t think the team was at its sharpest point. We were a little bit lethargic in our play, we lost too many balls, and too many balls lost trying to play one touch, which suggested a little bit of anxiety in some instances. We never really put our foot down and took full dominance of the game as much as they were putting a low block at times defending in the second phase or zone two. We never really imposed ourselves the way we normally do.”

“I think that time (of the goal) it was just when Augustine Mulenga came in, Luvuyo Memela was more in a striker’s position and we gave him a bit of time to turn and face (the goals). And I could see the run of Mulenga between Lyle Lakay and Ricardo Nascimento at the back. I think that’s where we got exposed. To be honest, the poorest defence in that instance, the game could have easily gone into a draw,” continued the Sundowns coach.

“But, unfortunately when we make such mistakes against such a fresh striker like Mulenga and the brilliance of Memela, we had to be punished. We have to accept and give credit to AmaZulu because they fought from the beginning.”

Sundowns have one more game to play before the league goes into recess for the Christmas break. They will play Marumo Gallants at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Thursday.