Laffor’s warning to the Brazilians
HUGE SETBACK: TOGOLESE SPOIL SUNDOWNS’ PLANS
Liberian winger doesn’t want his side to start relying on other results.
When Mamelodi Sundowns left South Africa for Togo over a week ago to face As Togo-Port in the Caf Champions League, Anthony Laffor said he and his team-mates knew that they had to win their match in order to put Masandawana in a position to qualify for the knockout stages.
Well, things did not go as planned for the former African champions as they succumbed to the Togolese, suffering a 1-0 shock defeat on Tuesday, which leaves them rock bottom in Group C. The Brazilians will meet again with Togo-Port next week Friday, where a win for them could turn around their fortunes as they would reclaim the third spot.
Laffor has since warned his side against the reliance on other results, and has urged the Chloorkop-based side to take matters into their own hands when they host Port in Atteridgeville.
“We don’t want to get into a position whereby we are depending on other teams to win or to qualify, we need to do it ourselves,” said Laffor.
The Liberian winger travelled with Sundowns but was kept on the bench by Pitso Mosimane, who denied what would have been the 33-year-old’s fifth appearance since January. Nonetheless, with the limited game time owing to a string of injuries, Laffor admits he would love to spend more time on the pitch than on the bench or the stands.
“Everybody wants to play football,” he said.
“Every footballer wants to play football, that’s our job and we are enjoying it, I don’t think that any of our players are complaining about not having any time to rest.
“It is important for a footballer to always be on the pitch and since I have been at Sundowns I have been able to play football none stop,” he said.
“We want to play football and it is good, and I want to play for a team that will always want to play football. I don’t want to play for a team that will rest for six months then come back,” Laffor added.