‘All so laudable’
MAMELODI Sundowns captain Hlompo Kekana has praised his teammates for not suffering stage fright and playing their own brand of football in the Fifa Club World Cup quarterfinal defeat against Kashima Antlers.
The big defensive midfielder though did admit that Downs’ glaring omission was a ruthlessness in taking their chances when they were dazzling Antlers with expansive, fluid passing football in the first half at Osaka’s Suita City Football Stadium on Sunday.
Sundowns now meet Asian champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in tomorrow’s fifth-place playoff in Osaka (9.30 am SA time).
“We are really disappointed,” said Kekana.
“Especially because of the amount of chances we created in the first half. And they were clearcut chances. Had we taken one of those, I think we would be talking a different story now. I think we should take lessons from these games. As much as we were rookies in the tournament, there were a lot of positives. And I’m just proud to be here and enjoy this moment.”
Antlers may also have been tournament rookies. But Japan has hosted the Club World Cup (CWC) seven times since its inception in 2000, and the country’s clubs have taken part five previous times. That is a big difference from being the first Southern African team to participate at the tournament.
It is a lot of time and opportunity to gather and absorb information, something Japanese football has a reputation for being quite good at. Kekana said Sundowns’ relative inexperience did show.
“Antlers know when to kill the game and when not to. But it’s also a lesson to us to say that you need to kill the game at this level, where one opportunity is so vital,” Downs’ captain said.
“We’re very disappointed with the way we created so many chances and could not take one.
“We need to be ruthless in front of goals. If you look at the styles of play, I think we’re much better than the opposition.
“But the style doesn’t matter – who won the match is what is important.”
Kekana was disappointed that Downs’ mental fortitude and toughness forged becoming this year’s African Champions could not translate to a global stage.
The though, did midfielder, praise his teammates for their bravery applying the same brand of exciting attacking football in the first half that took them to being PSL and African champions, a display that had international TV commentators purring, but had no end product.
“We have been to Zamalek [in Egypt], we have been to Setif [in Algeria] – those are powerhouses of African football. And you could see the level and the way we handled ourselves in those situations – it was encouraging,” said Kekana.
“And to see yourself on this kind of stage where nobody had stage fright is encouraging too. You could see the young boy, Percy Tau, tried.
“He was in front of goal on a few occasions where we thought he could snatch one.
“But I think with experience he will learn. And I think it’s important that we all do.”
Jeonbuk lost 1-0 to Mexico’s Club America in Sunday’s early quarterfinal.
Theoretically the meeting against the South Koreans is a step up for Downs, as Jeonbuk qualified for this tournament as the best club in Asia, while Antlers were participating as Japan’s host club and J-League champions.
● Marc Strydom is in Japan as a guest of Mamelodi Sundowns TMG Digital