Sundowns looking to rediscover scoring touch against Pirates

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Neo Maema does not believe in prioritizing one match over the other, especially in two-legged affairs such as their MTN8 semifinal showdown with Orlando Pirates.

The Buccaneers will host the first-leg in Soweto this Saturday, and with all two-leg ties, the away goal is usually a priority. But not for Maema.

“There’s a culture at Sundowns that we want to win every football match and I don’t think the first-leg or second-leg is in question when it comes to the team performance. We are not putting into the head about the two fixtures, we just want to win both,” said Maema.

Meanwhile, his attacking partner, Peter Shalulile seems a bit of a challenge as far as playing two legs is concerned. However, he backs his side to find its scoring touch, as Downs have not been as lethal as they usually are in front of goal.

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“This home and away thing is very tricky and difficult. In Europe it’s also tricky because you want to go home with at least a win or with a goal. But come Saturday, we have to go there and do our best and just make sure that we come out with a win. Their backline is difficult to score against but the mark of champions is that they knock on the door until they score,” said Shalulile.

“It won’t be an easy game but the courage is still there. We will respect them and go out there and give our best, which is what we do at Sundowns. In every match that we have played against big teams this season, we managed to create chances and come Saturday, all that we have to do is bury the chances that we have to get because we are definitely going to get chances.

Maema, meanwhile, has been deployed in various roles in attack and says it would be great to rediscover the scoring touch against the Buccaneers.  

“As offensive players, we always put pressure on ourselves to hit the back of the net. We try by all means to bury the chances and that is what is expected from us. The past few games have been difficult but like in previous games, we don’t not stop trying and it works out in the end.”