Downs keeper sees Downs lift MTN8 title
Onyangos great saves saw Downs claim the title after a dramatic penalty shootout against Cape Town City.
Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango discussed his heroics during a penalty-shootout which ultimately brought home the MTN8 Cup.
Onyango’s great saves saw Downs claim the title after a dramatic penalty shootout at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on Saturday evening, against Cape Town City.
He was awarded with the Man of the Match trophy after a heroic display on the night.
“We do a lot of work behind the scenes. It’s the job of the analysts to give us the opposition’s penalty statistics delivered through the goalkeeper coach. I had a chat with the coach just before the shootout, I knew a few of them and I had to use my instincts as well, but it’s a lot of work that we put in. You need to watch a lot of penalties [to understand] which foot they are going to use and how they stand and all these things.” said Onyango after the shootout.
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The Ugandan international goalkeeper went on to express the significance of winning the cup and made a reference to his jersey number as well.
“Every trophy is special but this one has been away for a very long time. Someone told me that I am lucky number 14 as per my jersey number, it’s been 14 years since Sundowns won the MTN8 and probably the ‘football gods’ made it possible, but it was a good fight from the boys, we kept on believing even when we missed the first two penalties, we knew that we need to stay focused and until the last whistle.”
Sundowns have won the majority of the domestic league accolades, adding the MTN8 trophy to their accomplishment solidifies their dominance and intentions in the new season, however more attention will be driven towards continental football.
Onyango expressed the desire to conquer Africa and win the CAF Champions League again.
“Personally I want to win the CAF Champions League and that’s also the objective of the club. It’s a big thing to win the Champions League. I’d like to be the first Ugandan to win it twice so it’s the big one that we are really looking at, but we first have to collect the ones that are in front of us because they give us momentum going forward.”
He thanked the supporters that were present at the stadium.
“We have really missed seeing our fans in the stadiums, it was amazing to see some of them back, of course it was not the numbers that we really wanted, but we need to follow the protocols.
“For me, seeing the supporters, we had to reward them. We hope that we will see them in some time to come because football is beautiful with the supporters. The more that we vaccinate, the more we get more numbers in the stadiums. It was very beautiful to see them and to celebrate with them this magnificent trophy after 14 years,” Onyango said.
Our memorable journey in the #MTN8 ended with a thrilling final for the history books! 🏆#Sundowns #MTN8Final2021 pic.twitter.com/boiAb1TMLh
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 31, 2021
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