Sundowns accept underdog tag for Chiefs clash

It is not often that Mamelodi Sundowns go into a domestic match as an underdog, particularly when they play at home.

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The tables have turned as Kaizer Chiefs go into today’s match as the favourites.

The script changed when the Glamour Boys beat Maritzburg United 3-0 while the defending champions lost 1-0 to TS Galaxy in mid-week.

Sundowns co-head coach, Rhulani Mokwena says playing as underdogs comes with less pressure, which they gladly accept.

“We welcome the tag,” said Mokwena. “But I welcome the tag because the tag won’t play on the pitch. We lost the match against Galaxy and Chiefs won theirs so they have the rights. We will humbly take the underdog tag and approach the game with the utmost humility. But that gives us no pressure, which is good.”

“We know that we have a very difficult game but we love difficult games and we have the necessary experience to deal with difficult games. They’ve got an extremely good squad and they are well coached. the squad that they have now can play the game of high octane and aggressive pressing and you need the right profile of players to do that, which is what they have,” he added.

The quality of the squad that Sundowns have is quite frightening if you ask any of the other 15 teams who make up the league, but for Downs coaches, it is a constant headache when it comes to match day selection, and Mokwena admits that there’s always the possibility to get the starting line-up wrong against Amakhosi.

“The players also have to be open to coaching mistakes sometimes. We also get it wrong and we are unfair to certain players and we don’t play them when they believe they should play. Ultimately everybody has the responsibility to be professional, work hard and compete for a place in the team. This then gives us the selection headache and that is the responsibility of the players, to create selection dilemmas for us.”  

“We need four or five games to get into our rhythm and as soon as we are in that space and we catch on, we know that we are one of the best if not the best side in this league. We have the responsibility to always show that personality on the pitch,” concluded Mokwena.

The two giants will revive their rivalry in a sold-out affair at Loftus Versfeld at 3pm.