Mamelodi Sundowns have blamed fatigue for their loss to Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 semi-finals.

According to The Citizen, the Buccaneers knocked the Brazilians out of the lucrative tournament with a 4-1 win on penalties, after the match ended 1-1 at Lucas Moripe Stadium yesterday.

Late equaliser forces penalties

Iqraam Rayners gave Sundowns the lead, but Kamogelo Sebelebele equalised late in the game to take it to a penalty shoot-out.

Both giants could not be separated over the two legs of the semi-final, with the tie finishing 2-2 on aggregate. Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso believes their participation in the Fifa Club World Cup had an adverse effect on his side.

“The question is that my players tried but it’s also clear that we saw on the pitch an abnormal number of mistakes on simple passes because with me fatigue is not physical but it’s a brain thing,” an irritable Cardoso reasoned.

Cardoso cites world cup toll

“And because of fatigue, we made many more mistakes. That’s why you didn’t see the same fluidity in our game. It’s clear that not only were these two highly demanding matches from the beginning to the end, but it’s also because at the moment we’re not able to do much more than that and it’s important to understand.

“We haven’t played many matches. Orlando Pirates were resting while we were playing at the Club World Cup and while we were still there, Pirates were already preparing for the season and that means we’re a little bit late compared to other teams. We know that we’re not at the place we would like to be to play such matches.”

Chaine the hero for Pirates

Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine saved penalties from Teboho Mokoena and Marcelo Allende to guide Pirates to a 4-1 victory in the shoot-out. Tshegofatso Mabasa scored the decisive penalty, adding to the converted spot-kicks by Deon Hotto, Abdoulaye Mariko and Sipho Mbule.

“I think we had two similar matches and Pirates played two matches with a similar style and we didn’t play the match we planned. They were very equal matches and both teams were competitive,” Cardoso concluded.

“There were moments where we were better and moments where the other team was better. A lot of physicality and not always very well played football.

“The draw in both matches were a fair result and we headed into penalties. There was a moment of inspiration from the goalkeeper of Pirates and he was able to make saves that gave them the victory.”