Pitso unhappy with PE
Coach says stadium favours Ajax
MAMELODI Sundowns’ coach Pitso Mosimane believes the odds are stacked against his team winning the Nedbank Cup after the PSL announced the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as the venue.
While some sections applauded the league’s decision to take the May 16 cup final clash between Sundowns and Ajax Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, Mosimane said he would have preferred Durban, the PSL’s default location in recent seasons.
“You’ve asked me for my opinion, and I really would not like to go to PE,” the coach said.
“But we don’t have a say. Whether we like it or not we will go.
“I think the conditions in PE suit Ajax better.”
Mosimane says another problem with PE is the difficulty for the side’s fans to get there.
“I don’t know who makes these decisions and what helps them make these decisions. All I know is that this is difficult.”
Together with the venue, Mosimane has another pressing concern, having just managed two wins in six matches.
The coach has also had to defend his side’s conservative approach. The Brazilians got over the line with narrow margins in their two wins en route to the cup final.
“We had a difficult time,” Mosimane, whose side surrendered the Premiership to Kaizer Chiefs last week, said.
“We went to TP Mazembe [a Caf Champions League match] and lost 3-2 on aggregate.
“We came back and then had to travel to Mpumalanga for a midweek game and there was drama there. That is the game that decided the league title.
“It was difficult for us emotionally, and then we came back and faced Celtic . . . where we took the biggest dent and the biggest crash [a 5-0 defeat].
“My players are human beings and to bring them out of that is not easy.”
Mosimane revealed that he had instructed his men to hold back and rely on individual brilliance to beat Vasco da Gama in Sunday’s semifinal match at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretor- ia. Mzikayise Mashaba scored a long-range stunner to help Downs win the game.
“I gave the directive to play like that. I know a few people might not like it, but I had to make a choice between playing expansive football and then having to justify why the team didn’t go through or tone it down to make sure the team gets to the final,” Mosimane said. “Sorry if it didn’t look nice.” Meanwhile, Roger de Sa feels qualification for the final might have come too soon for his Ajax Cape Town youngsters.
His youthful squad advanced to the final after they staged a late smash-and-grab effort to beat SuperSport United 2-1.
“We are still building a good squad and now that we are into the final the guys are going to be working even harder.
“They’ll obviously all want to play in the match.”
Da Sa says his squad “are keen to play every day of the week”.
He was also quick to point out that nine of the players in the starting lineup in Saturday’s semifinal were produced by their own academy.
“We still have got a lot of work to be done before the final – a lot of coaching to be done.
“But I’m delighted for the kids and for this beautiful city,” he said of Cape Town.
“I’d rather be in the final than sitting on the couch watching it from far,” De Sa said.