Mamelodi Sundowns’ first-leg tie of the MTN8 semi-final in Soweto was scored at 0-0. In an effort to defend their local championship, the Brazilians dominated the most of the second half action in Soweto.
Coach Manqoba Mngqithi described his impression of the cup after the games, saying:
“The terrible aspect is that we didn’t score any goals, but tactically I believe it was a game of extremely narrow margins, and those marginal games may have played in our favor had we utilised them very effectively,” the commentator said of the game.
“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get shots on target. To attempt to put balls on targets and to exploit those little margins of cutbacks are two things that, statistically speaking, we really fell short of.
In the first half of the match, the home squad showed grit and character by attempting more attempts on goal as both teams searched for an early goal to get the game going.
Masandawana ended the first half of play with a 58% ball possession percentage, but Coach Manqoba was concerned about the lack of goal attempts.
“It’s very uncommon, which is why I am saying this was a game of small margins because if you look at the first chance by Ronwen [Williams] to Peter [Shalulile], leaving that ball to just go through and go straight to face the goalkeeper, it’s a clear chance to take a shot and score,” the commentator said.
The same thing occurred to [Khuliso] Mudau; he had two opportunities on the other side with no one positioned close to him, but both balloons passed the goal line.
It is really unusual for us to spend a whole game without firing a shot at goal after having so many opportunities to do so. Coach Manqoba stated.
Coach Manqoba, the South African Champion, closed by applauding Orlando Pirates for their yena iyu and the task that lies ahead at the conclusion of the season.
“One must also give credit to Orlando Pirates, who played very well and were very smart in their approach. They would allow us to enter their half while they had the ball, and they are very strong in transition, so they did that very well.
From buildup, they wanted to upset us frequently with a high press, but occasionally we would come out.