Mngqithi not getting too excited despite Chiefs thrashing

Mamelodi Sundowns coach has dismissed his side’s ‘favourites’ tag after knocking Kaizer Chiefs out of the Carling Knockout on Saturday. With defending champions Stellenbosch FC also sent packing by Marumo Gallants, Sundowns will be expected to go all the way.

The Brazilians will play Gallants in the semi-finals while surprise package Magesi FC takes on Richards Bay to determine who will contest the final at the Free State Stadium on November 23. 

ALSO READ: Mngqithi unhappy despite Sundowns’ convincing win over Chiefs

Shortly after his side thrashed 10-man Amakhosi 4-0 at FNB Stadium to reach the last four, Mngqithi cautioned against getting too excited, with a place in the final up for grabs.

“I never want to look at a cup competition and get ahead of myself. I’m the type of a person that believes as a team, we should always fight to win the next match,” Mngqithi said.

“If we win more matches then we’re most likely to win more trophies but to think that this one is for the taking, it’s not what I do. I always look at the next opposition and try to find the next solution that can help us win the next match and stay focused, without getting ahead of myself.”

In between their Betway Premiership and Carling Knockout commitments, Masandawana will also begin their Caf Champions League group stage adventure later this month.

Mngqithi is encouraged by their form ahead of what is going to be yet another testing month. The majority of his players are also expected to represent their respective national teams in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

“We wanted to peak around this time. We did not want to arrive at this stage with most players having a lot of games on their back. We’re very excited that most of these players have been rotated a lot and have not really had so much load in their legs,” Mngqithi added.

ALSO READ: Sundowns slaughter Chiefs to reach Carling Knockout semis

“That’s why I was demanding a little bit more consistency from how we’re approaching the game after we scored the first two to three goals. I saw that we were back to being sluggish, slow and playing just to kill time. But it is impressive to see most of our players showing their quality.

“We’re hoping that it will help us, because we’ve arrived at a stage where we really wanted most of our players not having really played that much.”