Pitso defends ‘Africa’s number’ goalkeeper Onyango
Normally, rain is believed to be a sign of blessings, but for Denis Onyango , it was a horrible day at work when he conceded a goal that should normally have been a routine save.
Denis Onyango of Mamelodi Sundowns prides himself on being one of the most decorated imports in South Africa, having lifted eight league. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images.
Because of the rain, the Ugandan shot-stopper had to agonisingly watch the ball creep through his legs into the back of the net as Golden Arrows beat Mamelodi Sundowns 3-2 at a swampy Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Sunday.
READ: Sundowns coach Mosimane not focusing on Chiefs
Sundowns head coach Pitso Mosimane says Onyango will need to be mentally fit to get over the flop.
“We know how we lost and it will be difficult for Denis Onyango to recover mentally, because normally the ball should bounce before the goalkeeper but because of the conditions, the bounce did not favour him,” said Mosimane.
“There is always a mistake that he commits once a year but how many times does he save us? He has been the number one goalkeeper in Africa for the past four years so we cannot now doubt him. The number one in Africa can make mistakes because we have seen big goalkeepers make mistakes. That is in the budget and he will come and help us as usual. We are not getting emotional with Denis,” he added.
READ: Sundowns are the best team in SA – Jordaan
The Brazilians, as the defending champions, should be worried that they are trailing Absa Premiership log leaders Kaizer Chiefs by 10 points, but “Jingles” seems like he is not bothered by the gap that Amakhosi have opened.
“If you focus on other people then you are losing the plot, you need to focus on yourself. We know how we win the league, we have won it four times in the last six years and twice we came second so this is not new to us.
“What we need to focus on is Sundowns and at this point in time we are five points behind our program and our program is what wins us the league,” said Mosimane.
“You can’t be looking at your neighbour and say he has got a new car and now you can have a new car. No, you have to focus on yourself. You can talk about 10 points but we are five points behind our program. We want 72 points in total because we are running our own race,” he added.
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