SUNDOWNS CAUTION ON TITLE RACE
Sundowns’ Mosimane sounds note of caution despite team’s points buffer
MAMELODI Sundowns may be sitting pretty with their five-point buffer at the summit of the Premier Soccer League table with two games in hand, but that is no comfort for coach Pitso Mosimane.
Sundowns had to work hard for their 1-0 win against Maritzburg United at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday evening.
It was their eighth win of the season and their second at home‚ an ominous sign as their last two matches of the year are home ties against Bloemfontein Celtic tomorrow and Cape Town City on Tuesday.
Mosimane said not much should be read into the fact that they had surged ahead of their competitors.
“The lead is encouraging but it works in both ways‚” he said.
“It looks good and everybody goes for you, but it also gives confidence to wrap it up and copy top teams like Manchester City.
“They go for it every week but games in hand don’t mean a lot. “I like the points that we have. “SuperSport have games in hand and they drew last week. Those things don’t work.
“When you have a 14- or 15-point lead‚ then you can say it’s silly to lose the title but when you don’t have that points difference‚ it’s too early. We haven’t even got to the halfway mark.”
Because of their recent excellence in the Caf Champions League‚ Sundowns have a bye for next year’s preliminary round in February.
However‚ that clemency has not been extended to defending league champions Bidvest Wits‚ who have a two-legged tie against Mauritian outfit Pamplemousses SC on the second and third weekends of February.
Mosimane said teams had to earn their byes in the continental tournaments.
Sundowns will be facing the winners of the Rayon Sports (Rwanda) and Lydia Ludic Burundi Académic Football Club (LLB Academic FC) tie.
Should Wits proceed‚ they will face Primeiro de Agosto of Angola or Zimbabwe’s FC Platinum.
“You must go to the semifinals where you buy your ticket. It’s no surprise that SuperSport have a bye.
“You get points for going somewhere and I don’t think they have a difficult team [either Petro de Luanda of Angola or Masters Security from Malawi] before they proceed, so that’s a ticket.
“We have it‚ SuperSport has it‚ Orlando Pirates had it. If you want it‚ you’ve got to play.”
Meanwhile, Mosimane said “withdrawal” football would have a detrimental effect on the national team.
In the aftermath of their hard-fought 1-0 win against Maritzburg United at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday, Mosimane said the draws in the Premier Soccer League could have an effect on Bafana Bafana.
There have been 84 draws in the PSL this season with Golden Arrows and Orlando Pirates having drawn the most games (eight) while Baroka FC‚ Chippa United and Kaizer Chiefs have drawn seven each.
“If there are two match-days in succession and there are not enough goals‚ it’ll bring the topic of the lack of goals and it’s justified at the time‚” Mosimane said.
“However‚ I see things differently and I like what Cavin Johnson said in terms of us coaches who play not to lose. “Who wants to lose? “I don’t want to lose but if you don’t attack‚ how are you going to win?
“If your game is 70% defence and 30% attack‚ are you going to use 30% attack to score and what if the other team is organised? We’re all afraid to lose our jobs‚” Mosimane said.
Sundowns may be leading the table by five points but they have drawn the least matches (one) of all teams while recording the eight wins that have pushed them to the summit with two games in hand.
“It’s not good for Bafana Bafana because we all withdraw and we play withdrawal football and that’s easy,” he said.
“It’s scary because you have to build from the back and if you’re a big team you have to build from the back.
“Not all teams build from the back and in the second half of the season‚ it’s going to be worse because we’ll all be scraping for points. “Who wants to lose? “It’s going to be draw‚ draw‚ draw. “Hence when you win two games‚ you’ll find yourself in second position because we don’t want to play and don’t want to lose.
“However‚ we are Sundowns and we have to play.
“I don’t want to talk about other teams but we have to play.”