Downs wary of Royal backlash
MNGQITHI: NEDBANK CUP WOUND MAY STILL BE BLEEDING
Manqoba Mngqithi feels Royal AM are out for revenge against his Mamelodi Sundowns side, as the DStv Premiership champions-elect travel to KwaZulu-Natal for their final league game of the season today.
Downs beat John Maduka’s side in the Nedbank Cup semifinals a few weeks ago and that wound, Mnqgithi believes, is still bleeding.
Royal AM will also grab a spot in the Caf Champions League next season, if they can beat Sundowns, and Cape Town City lose at Stellenbosch. At the very least, the Premiership newbies will hope to seal third and a spot in next season’s Caf Confederation Cup.
“The match is definitely going to be tough and the fact that we beat them in the Nedbank Cup makes them even more motivated for this match,” said Mngqithi.
“Besides that, they have changed the squad and their approach to a certain extent, because they are no longer building up from the back a lot.”
“They have been playing a lot of long balls and are very direct with their two strikers and one playmaker. We are playing against a very sophisticated team and we know that they have a lot to offer.
“We have to play them with a very good mindset because we know that our supporters will be there and we know that we need to use this as a dress rehearsal for the final – we need to give a good performance on the day,” he added.
After this “dress rehearsal”, Downs have an appointment with Marumo Gallants in the Nedbank Cup final at Royal Bafokeng Stadium. This is a pitch that Masandawana ditched in their Caf Champions League campaign as the technical team was not happy with the condition of the surface.
“It is important for us to clear the air because it might have left a sour taste and people might think we are saying Royal Bafokeng’s pitch is not good. At that time it was raining and when a pitch is not used regularly it gets very soft. When we played Al-Hilal, we realised that there was a risk of potential injuries,” said Mngqithi.
He added: “The quality of the pitch has always been very good. The pitch and the stadium are very good but we were just worried about playing there during the rainy season because it was soaked.
“Based on what we saw at that time, players were slipping and that’s when we decided to leave. But every coach would be excited to play in a stadium like Royal Bafokeng.”