Pitso praises Komphela after TKO win
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane was full of praise for Bloemfontein Celtic coach Steve Komphela after his side's Telkom Knockout last-16 victory.
Pitso Mosimane, coach of Mamelodi Sundowns and Steve Komphela, coach of Golden Arrows (Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
Gaston Sirino’s second-half strike was enough to hand the Brazilians a 1-0 win at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday night.
“High level game hey. For me with the experience of being in the Champions League for so many years, this is a Champions League game,” Mosimane told SuperSport TV after the match.
READ: Sundowns beat Bloem Celtic to book Telkom quarter ticket
“This was high level football. Not many teams can bypass our pressing. We tried to press. We tried to deal with (Lantshene) Phalane and the number 4 (Kabelo Dlamini). To deal with (Ronald) Pfumbidzai as a left back was not easy. And they are not afraid, they are pushing. Unbelievable.
“Steve plays good football, it’s good to see football being played like this by local coaches. It’s top level football.”
Mosimane added that Sundowns had to change their approach to get the winning goal.
“We had to play on a break because of the pressure. They pushed us. They pushed us in front of our box. So the only I could do it was to play on a break and put [Toni] Silva or Gaston up and let (Hlompho) Kekana play the ball over the line. That’s the only way they’ll be vulnerable because they are playing on a half-way line.
“So we had to do that and use speed. So Gaston missed the first one and he corrected it with the second one to be honest.
“It was going to be decided by one goal because of the quality to be honest,” concluded Mosimane.
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