On August 28, Mamelodi Sundowns will play SuperSport United at the University of Pretoria Campus in their MTN 8 debut. In what they are dubbing a “#HomeComing” match, Masandawanaa and cross-town opponent Matsatsantsa will square off in the competition’s quarterfinal at the TUKS Stadium.
Rulani Mokwena, the coach of Downs, expressed his confidence in his team’s ability to build on their excellent performance from their midweek victory. He said: “The players have been in this situation many times before; they have the experience. I always say that the game belongs to the players, so it is up to them to put in a very good performance, and they are aware of that. They’ve had experience playing in matches similar to this, so I have no doubt that we will do well on Sunday.
In their last encounter, Bafana Ba Style won both league games on the road and the Nedbank Cup round of 32 at home. The Tshwane derby, one of the most thrilling goal-scoring spectacles, will be played at the university grounds this time.
“Given the direction the club is going in from a commercial and marketing standpoint, we are thrilled to play there. Many Sundowns supporters come into the age group of academics and people with university education if you look at the average age of a Sundowns fan. Coach Rulani said.
It is therefore a “master stroke” from the club, and we are just very happy because also the field is relatively very good, to bring that game to them and allow them to be within walking distance of the stadium, ensuring that they also get to witness and get a taste of watching their favorite club play.
The two teams enter this match with different levels of confidence, with the reigning champions having won three of their past five games and the opponents having just one victory. It promises to be a very fascinating game, a very good team with a very experienced coach, tough to score [against], they don’t allow you a lot of huge opportunities, said coach Rulani in a quick description of United’s playing style.
“You go to Richards Bay, Orlando Pirates, and TS Galaxy, and they score. They have a strong striker in [Bradley] Grobler, and it depends on who they pair him up with; whether it’s [Thabang] Sibanyoni, who played in the previous game, he won’t play in the next game, and Aubrey Mngoma played as a 10, he played as a 10. They play really aggressive percentage football.
“[Thamsanqa] Gabuza came in as a substitute and performed well against Pirates. They used that front four, and maybe even Gamohani Lungu, who I last saw on Wednesday, who played as a wingback last night. He could still shift Lungu up front and bring Siya Nhlapho to the right back. It’s a very tough squad to play against since they have three powerful center backs in Thatayaone Dithlokwe, Luke Fleur, and Thulani Hlatswayo Tyson.
At TUKS Stadium on Sunday, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United square off in the MTN 8 quarterfinal. Live on SuperSport, kickoff is scheduled at 18:00.
Coach Rulani offers insight into this weekend’s matchup versus SuperSport United in the article “Coach Rulani Gives Insight” that originally published on Mamelodi Sundowns | Official Website.