Zwane gets nod to face Al Ahly in Cairo
• Team doctor gives key midfielder the green light for huge Champions League match in Egypt
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is confident talisman Themba Zwane will be available for their Caf Champions League first-leg quarterfinal match against Al Ahly in Cairo on Saturday. Sundowns travel to the Al Salam Stadium for a confrontation with former coach Pitso Mosimane‚ who is in charge of the Egyptian side‚ determined to get a positive result ahead of the second leg in Atteridgeville the next Saturday.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi is confident talisman Themba Zwane will be available for their Caf Champions League first-leg quarterfinal match against Al Ahly in Cairo on Saturday.
Sundowns travel to the Al Salam Stadium for a confrontation with former coach Pitso Mosimane‚ who is in charge of the Egyptian side‚ determined to get a positive result ahead of the second leg in Atteridgeville the next Saturday.
There were concerns after the influential Zwane‚ who has scored 12 goals in all competitions from an attacking midfield position‚ was hauled off inside the opening 10 minutes of their 2-0 win over Maritzburg United at Loftus stadium last week.
The concerns would have grown when Zwane missed their 1-0 Premier Soccer League (PSL) win over TS Galaxy in Nelspruit on Sunday‚ but Mngqithi allayed those fears and said the team doctor had given the green light for the 31-year-old to feature against Ahly on Saturday.
“We were hopeful and it looks like he will be able to play the next match in Egypt‚” Mngqithi said after the win over Galaxy. The coach said Zwane’s early substitution against Maritzburg was just a precautionary move as the midfielder’s knock on the leg was not a major one.
“We are hopeful that everything goes according to plan, but it never really looked very serious. We just had to be a little precautious and make sure we didn’t aggravate it.
“The doctor said [after the Maritzburg match] that within a week or 10 days he will be able to help us and we have got enough days until our next match [against Ahly on Saturday]‚” said Mngqithi.
Zwane is a vital cog in the Sundowns attack and his inclusion in the match-day squad against Ahly will boost the team’s chances of a positive result in Cairo.
Strikers Peter Shalulile and Gift Motupa are proving to be a menacing combination for Sundowns and, with Zwane also in the team‚ the 2016 champions can stun the Egyptian giants.
“That combination is giving us a lot of hope and direction in our play because it gives us stability up top. We know we’ve got a proper number nine [Motupa] and there is a surprise factor of Peter coming in late into areas that are dangerous.
“Not many people can detect his [Shalulile] movements. We are hopeful he is still going to score some goals to help us,” Mngqithi said.
Meanwhile, Mngqithi insists Sundowns, cruising to a recordbreaking fourth PSL title on the trot, are not looking at the log table‚ even though they enjoy an intimidating lead.
The win over Galaxy stretched their lead at the top of the PSL table to seven points with four matches remaining.
Mngqithi was asked after the win at Mbombela Stadium whether he already smells the triumph of the Premiership title.
“Our focus is not smelling it or getting it‚ our focus is on our processes‚” said Mngqithi.
The Sundowns coach said the match against Galaxy was the start of what he calls a cycle of the last remaining five matches wherein they are targeting nine points out of a possible 15.
“We were playing our first match of our last cycle and we are happy that we got maximum points. In the next four games, we are still expected to get a minimum of nine points‚ which will make us to be very happy with the cycle.”