Go easy on Madisha, even Van Dijk makes mistakes, pleads Pitso
Mosimane has seen unusual defensive errors across the world of football because of the difficulty of returning after the lengthy break for COVID-19
Motjeka Madisha’s name is still on Mamelodi Sundowns’ team sheet for continental club competitions. Picture: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix.
Pitso Mosimane was quick to shield his defender Motjeka Madisha, who had a match to forget after his errors contributed to both Bidvest Wits goals, though Sundowns still reached the Nedbank Cup final, beating Bidvest Wits 3-2 at Orlando Stadium.
READ MORE: Lakay stunner keeps Sundowns treble dream alive.
The Brazilians will now face Bloemfontein Celtic in the final on September 8.
With this unusual 2019/20 season, interrupted by a lengthy break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Sundowns head coach said he has seen household names across the globe committing similar mistakes, with the most recent being the horrific performances of Real Madrid centre back Raphael Varane in a last-16 Uefa Champions League against Manchester City on Friday, where he also committed blunders for two goals.
Madisha was robbed by Terrence Dzvukumanja for Wits’ first goal and then allowed the same player to turn past him far too easily for the Clever Boys’ second goal.
“The most interesting thing is, and I don’t know whether it is a coincidence, but what happened to Madisha is what I saw happening to Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool. It is also what I saw happening to (Raphael) Varane and Harry Maguire of Manchester United,” he said in a post-match conference.
“I asked myself and thought maybe it is a coincidence because I can see that the centre backs are not ready. We also realized that we could have got something on Lorenzo Gordinho because of the same situation that Madisha went through. If those players who I have mentioned can make mistakes – the multi-million Euro players … it is how he takes it from here. He has made mistakes, it was not one of his best games but we move on. He has helped us a lot in many games so we can’t kill him for one match.
Mosimane went on to whisper in the ear of the Absa Premiership outfits who are still to face The Students, warning them that Wits still have a pumping heartbeat despite this being the last season of their existence as they have sold their status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM).
“Wits are a very good and strong team, we could see that they never gave up and they don’t want to die. We had to get three leads to win the match. This is not a team that is being sold, this is not a team that you can say does not have a future. They are unbelievable, Gavin Hunt is a fighter and this is a warning to everyone, if you are going to play Bidvest Wits, be very careful, don’t think about TTM and all those things, they are alive and kicking, the heartbeat is still there.”
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