Pitso’s men shoot blanks, get point
LONG BALLS: GAME AGAINST MIMOSAS NOT EXCITING
Michaelson Gumede
Before Mamelodi Sundowns left for Ivory Coast to face Asec Mimosas in a Caf Champions League Group A clash, Masandawana head coach Pitso Mosimane detailed what he believes is a successful recipe to advance to the knockout stages.
“It is important to win at home and try to get three points away out of nine ... That’s 12 points and you are number one, no doubt about it,” he said.
Well, Downs won a point yesterday against Mimosas in a 0-0 draw played at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It truly was not the most eye-catching match as the hosts had plotted against Sundowns’ “shoe-shine and piano” brand of football, forcing the Brazilians to resort to long balls as their one-touch combinations were nullified.
After a frustrating first-half, where the Brazilians were kept at bay by the hosts, “Jingles” uncharacteristically made a switch at the start of the second-half when he brought on Argentine striker Emiliano Tade, withdrawing Gaston Sirino.
Sundowns caught Mimosas on the break around the hour mark in a move that saw Downs’ three attackers against two defenders. Themba Zwane was at the end of the attack and missed the target after doing all the hard work of losing his marker.
At the opposite end, the hosts had their first real attempt at goal when Ahmed Traore had a free header, but could only direct his efforts towards the safe hands of Denis Onyango.
About 10 minutes later, Africa’s finest goalkeeper was again put to the test, this time Mohamed Ndao bullied his way through Sundowns’ backline and delivered a dangerous looking cross but Onyango dominated his goal-mouth to keep Mimosas at bay.
Thapelo Morena had been deployed as a striker alongside Sirino, but the 25-year-old did not make the impact Mosimane would have wanted. Morena was then withdrawn in the 78th minute and Phakamani Mahlambi came on.
Seeing that the light at the end of the tunnel looked rather bleak, Mosimane decided to settle for the point when he added an extra defender, Rivaldo Coetzee, in the place of Zwane.