Sundowns look into next game after seeing off Chiefs
"We just have to continue to focus, work hard and contribute to the overall progress of the team."
After a strong team performance against Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns are looking to build on the momentum.
Head coach Rulani Mokwena praised his troops for the hard work that they put in against the Soweto giants.
“[This was a] big team performance. Everybody was willing to run, to fight and to give their best for the team, including the substitutes. If you analyse Chiefs very closely, the transitional style of play that coach Stuart [Baxter] comes with, I think there is a lot of intelligence and wisdom in the approach.
“For me as a coach it makes only sense when I watch them and it becomes very difficult to deal with them,” he said.
Defenders Rushine de Reuck and Grant Kekana have started the season well in their limited time together as a pair, successfully marshalling the backline for Downs.
Coach Rulani elaborated on the combination between the two defenders, comparing their style of play to that of Italian defenders.
“The one thing about the two of them is that they just love defending. I think the orthodox type of centre halves, you don’t normally find them in modern football. I think probably the prototype that’s now left is [Leonardo] Bunucci, centre halves that really love drafting and carrying the piano and that’s what you have with Grant and Rushine. [They] are always looking to better their performances, always willing to learn, to improve and kudos to them for another very good team contribution,” said Mokwena.
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He said the club was fortunate to be able to sit with talented group of players.
“They are not just talented but they are good human beings and that’s very important. Neo gives us the possibility of having a left footer on the left-hand side to expose one-on-one and to deliver crosses.
“Sometimes that’s what we need because at times we need to be a little bit more different, instead of inverting our wingers and coming inside, at times we have to go on the outside and use the profile of the players that we have.”
Sundowns continue their DStv Premiership journey on Sunday as they face off against TS Galaxy at Loftus Versfeld stadium.
“We just have to continue to focus, work hard and contribute to the overall progress of the team. It’s very difficult to single out any individual, it’s a long season and we are going to need everybody. Hopefully we can still get Mosa Lebusa and Ricardo Nascimento back because the competition at Sundowns is extremely tough,” Mokwena said.
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