Mokwena gives high praise to Mendieta following Sundowns win

Mamelodi Sundowns Rulani Mokwena has praised Junior Mendieta’s attitude following the narrow 1-0 win over Richards Bay in a DStv Premiership match that was played at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday.

The game looked like it would end in a draw before substitute Mendieta popped up with a late winner with one minute left of injury time. It was his second goal in Sundowns colours. Ironically, his first also came against Richards Bay in the reverse fixture in August last year.

Mendieta has struggled for game time since his move from Stellenbosch FC. He has been used mainly as an impact player with eight of his 11 appearances coming from the bench.

“I’m happy for Junior Mendieta. I seldom mention individuals but I think he deserves a very special mention because his attitude has been very good,” Mokwena said about the 30-year-old Argentine.

“It has been very difficult for him in terms of the adaptation, the language and injuries but he gives me no problems. He fights, he trains well and he’s got such a good attitude. This must be a lesson to footballers out there that the talking must be done on the pitch.

“When you fight and you work hard then you will have good chances and the universe will support you. I’m happy with the result. We needed to win against a team that was not here to win and those types of games are tough but it’s good that we got the result and we move on to the next one.”

Makeshift Masandawana

Mokwena praised his makeshift team for their late show to grab all three points against the Natal Rich Boyz. He fielded a completely new team as he rested his big stars for Friday’s second leg of the Caf Champions League quarterfinal against Young Africans.

“It’s not easy for a number of factors. We didn’t have much time to prepare for the game. We only had two video sessions and a recovery session,” Mokwena said following the trip to Tanzania.

“We arrived back on Sunday morning and on Monday we already had to report for camp. It’s going to be like this every three days until the end of the season. We have to get used to it. This time is not about the details of the performance, it’s about trying to stay focused on the ultimate price because these are games of consequence.”