Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs sent Mamelodi Sundowns 17 points clear at the top of the DStv Premiership. Downs were already at the top of the table, but they knew that a victory at FNB Stadium would be incredibly beneficial before they began European competition in February.
First-half prodigy Neo Maema of Masandawana gave the defending Champions the lead after twenty minutes. Khuliso Mudau advanced into the offensive third to combine with Peter Shalulile, who passed the ball to Maema before he shot with his right foot. The Brazilians had won the ball in their own half while defending against Chiefs’ effort at a goal. After the match, Downs head coach Rulani Mokwena praised his team’s performance.
“Felicitations to the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club. Congratulations to the players; it was not an easy game, but from a tactical standpoint, it was not one of my favorites. I must first discuss the performance with the players, but in overall, the game was too loose and lacked sufficient control. I must first discuss the performance with the players.”
Before finding the back of the net, the defending champions began the evening in a position of relative dominance. As early as five minutes into the game, the Chiefs’ defense thwarted an opportunity to take the lead. Coach Rulani briefly outlined the mechanisms that contribute to the team’s success, and he began by expressing gratitude for the work that have gone into constructing the football club.
“I applaud the football club and everyone involved with the club for what we see; it could never have been the result of an individual contribution or composition. Congratulations to the team, the players, the Motsepe family, the board, and everyone involved in assembling the Sundowns we see today.”
“This covers the recruitment department and any scouting department employees who attempt to invest. This includes the generosity of the Motsepe family and their investment in the sport of football. Then we try to design schemes, frameworks, or other mechanical things to work on that suit the demands and qualities of the players and team.”
Bafana Ba Style fought hard to overcome The Glamour Boys on their home turf, and it took an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Ronwen Williams to deny Keegan Dolly and Bimenyimana Caleb.
“It’s extremely risky to play with the goalkeeper, and there are a few instances where it’s easy to question what they’re doing.” So it works out well for us, it’s crucial for a big team to have 11 guys in possession on the field, and Ronwen is the starting point of our build-up system.”
Even after accomplishing a double over AmaKhosi for the first time in the history of the Premier Soccer League, Coach Rulani continued to emphasize the team’s need to develop: “We always have to improve, we have to get better, and we say it [always] after victory. I believe that today’s performance was significantly better than the previous two, although it was still a bit too open. However, from a coaching standpoint, I believe that we need to improve.”
“Even if we win [games] in a row or even if we lose [games] in a run, we still have to get better; there is no ceiling, and we must be aware of this. We will work hard to continually grow and get better, and we will continue to attempt to make our fans happy by playing the style of football that makes everyone happy.”
Mamelodi Sundowns will begin preparations for Tuesday’s league match against The Rockets in Mpumalanga.
»Even if we win or lose, we must continue to improve – Rulani Mokwena is a coach«