Sundowns will not make many changes against Polokwane, claims Pitso
JOHANNESBURG: Mamelodi Sundowns will look to end this week with a tighter grip on the two trophies they are defending, the PSL and Caf Champions League, after their hold on them loosened recently. The Brazilians haven’t won or scored in their last two league games as they play catch-up. They lost to Cape Town City to fall behind the leading pack after drawing with Chippa United.
They will try to change that tomorrow at Loftus Versfeld against a Polokwane City team who’re dealing with the abrupt resignation of coach Luc Eymael, who was announced as Bloemfontein Celtic’s coach on a two-year contract the following day after ditching Rise and Shine.
A win will put the Brazilians two points behind leaders Wits with two games in hand.
“It’s a big game,” coach Pitso Mosimane said. “We have to win this game because games in hand aren’t anything even though other people (at the top) are also not winning consistently. I told you that we might stumble but who is winning (consistently)? SuperSport (United) isn’t winning. (Orlando) Pirates and (Kaizer) Chiefs didn’t win (in their last league game). Wits didn’t win (their last league game). We are still okay.”
Sundowns will travel to Uganda on Wednesday to take on Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) on Saturday in the second leg of their Champions League first round clash.
The Brazilians will go there with a 2-1 advantage. But the away goal KCCA scored has given the Ugandan side confidence going into second leg.
Khama Billiat will still be absent even though he is now training with the team. He and Denis Onyango aren’t likely to feature for the club this week.
Because of their schedule, having played on Monday and Friday last week and then going to play tomorrow and Saturday in Kampala, Sundowns will only have one training session on an artificial pitch to prepare for what they will get at Phillip Omondi Stadium.
These two matches will test Sundowns’ mental strength. The African champions allowed KCCA back into the game after they bullied their way to take a 2-0 lead in seven minutes.
They thought that they would cruise to victory and probably hammer the Ugandans, but KCCA made Sundowns pay for taking them lightly with a crucial away goal.
The chaos in the Rise and Shine camp also makes it look like Sundowns will easily have things their own way. That’s what makes Polokwane a dangerous prospect, because they will be unpredictable.
“We will not make many changes against Polokwane,” Mosimane, pictured, said.
“We will field a strong team. It’s just that (Tiyani) Mabunda has been struggling with his shoulder. So maybe we should save him for Kampala. We can bring Lucky (Mohomi) back or Teko (Modise). We’ve got options.
“I can also play (Soumahoro) Bangaly there (in central midfield in Kampala), to stabilise the midfield a little bit. We have done well on the road. We scored in Egypt, Dolisie and Setif.”
Platinum Stars meanwhile, returned from Uganda with a 1-0 loss to Vipers in their Caf Confedeation Cup clash. It’s a slender defeat that puts them in a comfortable position for the second leg in Phokeng on Saturday. But before that they have to take on AmaZulu at Moruleng Stadium on Wednesday in the Nedbank Cup.