Coach Mosimane praises his opponents’ ‘gladiators’

Pitso Mosimane says SuperSport United played to their strengths when they drew 1-1 in the MTN8 semifinal, firstleg clash describing the likes of Bongani Khumalo, Evans Rusike and Clayton Daniels as “gladiators”.

However, the Masandawana coach also believes his side dealt well with what their Tshwane rivals had to offer.

“My team sheet was a little bit different because I could have played Motjeka Madisha, but I went with Wayne Arendse because of the challenge we might face. We did what we had to do to manage the challenge,” said Mosimane.

Downs could have scored a couple more goals if it weren’t for Sibusiso Vilakazi’s misfiring, which has been all too common in his game in recent matches.

“He is missing a lot. He missed against Bloemfontein Celtic, he missed at Cape Town City and against SuperSport, but what are you going to do?

“You have got to keep going because he contributes and he works very hard off the ball. He is getting the chances but he is not taking them,” said Mosimane.

“In South Africa we don’t have a lot of people who can bury chances. It is not only at Sundowns, ask all the coaches, it is a challenge we have in the country.

“He scored in the Champions League and we thought his confidence would be back,” Mosimane added.

On the brighter side, Mosimane is excited to see his star midfielder Gaston Sirino returning to his usual self, scoring goals and assisting his teammates on a regular basis.

Mosimane has been gradually introducing the Uruguayan as he gave him 85 minutes against SuperSport, meaning he could make his first 90 minutes next weekend in the Caf Champions League.

“Gaston is coming back and he is scoring, which is good. He scored two weeks back and he contributed to the assist of the goal we scored in Bloemfontein.

“After we came back from the game in Bloemfontein, I was happy with the energy levels, we fought, so the team is coming up well now,” he said.