Calling the shots
FICKLE FANS NOW CHANTING HIS NAME
Silky Sundowns strengthen their grip in championship race.
Excited supporters chanted Pitso Mosimane’s name and high-fived their coach as he left the field in Atteridgeville on Saturday evening, another victory secured in an increasingly impressive season for the Sundowns coach and his side.
“One game at a time,” is Mosimane’s own mantra, as Sundowns put their Absa Premiership ambitions aside this week, to take on AS Vita on Wednesday in the Caf Champions League, before Saturday’s Nedbank Cup quarterfinal showdown with Orlando Pirates.
But they can do that safe in the knowledge that their lead atop the league has opened up to six points with five games to go, after Wits slipped up at home to Free State Stars on Saturday night.
Shortly before that, Sundowns completed a routine 2-0 victory over Jomo Cosmos that was so easy they could afford to sleepwalk for much of the second half.
In the opening stanza, Mosimane’s men pounded the Cosmos goal, and were rewarded with two strikes from the “CBD”, Leonardo Castro opening the scoring with a sumptuous volley and Khama Billiat killing off rather tame opposition, who are set for a relegation scrap right to the end of the season.
“I think we started very well, that was the mentality, to put pressure on them,” added Mosimane.
“Especially in the first 20 minutes, we put a lot of pressure on … we were looking to break the ice but we could not, because they are stubborn, but finally we managed to … we were trying diagonal balls behind their fullbacks …. Finally it came off.”
Billiat’s superb chipped pass found Castro, who lifted a sublime effort past Lesego Modiba in the Cosmos goal. A long ball from defence then sent in Billiat, who rolled the ball under Modiba.
Cosmos offered limited threat themselves, though Jomo Cosmos was pleased with their secondhalf display, and is super-confident they will avoid relegation.
“We gave away two silly goals …. in the second half after we spoke and changed the system a bit I thought we looked much better than them. But we need to win games,” said Sono.
“I am targeting points against the teams coming to us, there are three of them (Cosmos have home games left against relegation rivals Bloemfontein Celtic, Tuks and Maritzburg United), we are looking at picking up points from them. You will get me here after the last game of the season, we will still be here (in the Absa Premiership).”