Mosimane urges his Brazilians to be smart

Michaelson Gumede

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane (right) has told his side to box clever in the second leg of their Caf Champions League final qualifier against Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in the Ugandan capital this afternoon.

KCCA got a crucial away goal in the first leg in Tshwane, which finished 2-1 to the Brazilians, and a 1-0 win for Mike Mutebi’s team will see them stun last year’s Champions League winners and book a place in the newly-expand- ed group stages. Mosimane, however, is adamant his side will stop that from happening.

“We don’t need to get a goal, we will only need it when they score,” he said.

“If they don’t score, we do not need it. It is a little bit different, we need to play a little clever and be wise. It needs experience and we have the experience. We should be cautious, we should roll up our sleeves because it is not going to be an easy match.

“We need to box smart because this game is not about how much ball possession you have or how many chances you create. This one is about not letting them score. We need to be smart because we lost Sibusiso Vilakazi now (to injury), so we are running short of numbers. We have also lost Keagan Dolly (signed by Montpellier in January), Khama Billiat (injured) and Denis Onyango (injured) … the numbers are getting thinner. It reminds me when we played Zamalek in the group stages (of the 2016 Champions League), we had 15 players, but we managed.” said Mosimane.

Kampala coach Mike Mutebi says they will look to make the most of their home ground advantage to oust the Brazilians, which would see them become the third defending champions of the last four to fail to make it to the group stages – Al-Ahly and TP Mazembe have suffered the same fate in recent years.

“When we play at home, we create seven chances on average. For every team that creates chances, you have to have belief. We know what they are capable of, they are a team that love to attack. They are not a defensive team, they are going to come and attack and play their way,” said Mutebi.