Keep flying SA flag high

THE positive spirit with which Mamelodi Sundowns have played in the CAF Champions League group phase deserves an applause.

Knocked out of the competition in May, and subsequently the Confederation Cup, the Brazilians were looking forward to a long holiday after a gruelling season during which they annexed the Absa Premiership.

But the disqualification of AS Vita of the DR Congo, after fielding a defaulter, threw Sundowns a lifeline as they were reinstated in the Champions League.

We feared that with players already in holiday mode and others having booked long getaways for leisure, they would merely go through the motions of fulfilling mandatory fixtures.

It has been anything but, with Sundowns showing intent to fly the SA flag high by giving their all. Their victory over Enyimba on Wednesday showed they have the determination to compete.

Lest we forget, it came a week after CAF had seemingly dealt Sundowns a huge blow by declaring that their result in the first game against Algerian side ES Setif was nullified following the expulsion of Setif due to crowd trouble.

Similarly, Sundowns had done extremely well under intimidating away conditions to win 2-0 against Setif, and to go into the very next game and produce a win is commendable.

Sundowns now need just one win in their remaining three games (two against Zamalek, one away to Enyimba) to secure a place in the semis.

Despite all this relative good start, Sundowns have had offthe-field distractions involving player contracts. They lost Ramahlwe Mphahlele to Kaizer Chiefs, and there’s still no clarity on the contracts of Anthony Laffor and Leonardo Castro.

Also, coach Pitso Mosimane only signed his new four-year deal on Wednesday.

Sundowns must ensure all these issues are ironed out and keep flying the SA flag expeditiously.