WHAT’S ON SOCCER
PITSO MOSIMANE’S heart wants three points from Mamelodi Sundowns’ clash with Asec Mimosas tomorrow in Abidjan in the Caf Champions League, but his head is ready to accept a point.
The Sundowns coach predicted that his team will get four points from the Ivorians after the draw for the group stage. They are one point away from achieving that feat, having beaten Asec 3-1 at Loftus earlier this month. It’s easy for the Brazilians to be “greedy” and want maximum points in the Ivory Coast now that they have seen Asec and outclassed them, but Mosimane, pictured, will go into tomorrow’s match cautious. Asec are no pushovers at home and are unbeaten in Abidjan in the Champions League this season.
“You’ve got to be realistic, who doesn’t want to win in Abidjan? We would like to win but the Champions League is another game,” Mosimane said. “The Champions League is awkward. It is not like the Absa Premiership where you can say that I think this one can win against that one. It’s a different game. It’s more than just about tactics. There are a lot of things involved. It’s the most difficult tournament to play. That’s why not everyone can win it. If it was that easy, then anyone could win it. It’s awkward, tough and tight. If you win it, you know that you have earned it. Don’t ever guarantee that you will win away.”
The Brazilians lost their first away match of the group stage, going down to Nigeria’s Lobi Stars. Sundowns let themselves down in that match, as they weren’t clinical and wasted a number of chances against a team that was there for the taking. The Nigerians bounced back from conceding first and won the match 2-1. That is their only win so far as Asec beat the Nigerians in Abidjan and Wydad Casablanca got three points from them in Enugu.
The Moroccans are likely to complete a double over Stars. Should Sundowns also do that to Asec, they and Wydad would need just a point from their last two matches to secure passage to the quarterfinals. Mosimane doesn’t just want a place in the quarter-finals, he also wants a favourable draw.
“At the end of the day we want to win (in Abidjan) to finish on top of the group because the number one teams will be put on one side and the number twos on the other side in the draw for the quarterfinals. The history says that Sundowns and Wydad will probably finish in the top two, but you can’t say it now, because football can go any other way. A win in Abidjan is very important for us,” Mosimane said.
“It will help us, especially if we win at home against Lobi Stars so that when we go to Casablanca, we don’t go there for a result. You play there stressfree. That’s the way it is. That’s the plan. I’ve been in this thing for five years. I know where there’s a possibility of winning. I thought we would win at Lobi Stars, but I am happy that we beat Wydad and Asec at home. I said it before that win at home, and try and get three points away. If we get three points away, out of nine, and you win all your homes games – that’s 12 points and you’re number one. No doubt about that.”