"I just want people to also see the penalties that we had today that were not given," he said.
Miguel Cardoso, head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns during the Betway Premiership match against Durban City at Royal Bafokeng Stadium. Photo: Phakamisa Lensman/Backpagepix
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has once again raised questions about the standard of refereeing in the PSL, delivering a cryptic assessment following his side’s emphatic victory over Durban City.
The Brazilians returned to the top of the Betway Premiership standings with an emphatic 4-1 win over City at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday night.
Thabang Matuludi stole the show with an unlikely brace, while Iqraam Rayners and Antonio van Wyk also got their names on the scoresheet. Jean Lwamba grabbed a consolation goal for the KwaZulu-Natal outfit.
Sundowns went into the encounter knowing that nothing less than three points would be enough to reclaim top spot after Orlando Pirates had temporarily moved to the summit of the log following their victory over Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby.
The result sees Cardoso’s men move to 26 points from 10 matches, opening up a one-point lead over second-placed Pirates, who have a game in hand.
Cardoso on officiating in Soweto derby
Rather than focus solely on the early title race, Cardoso turned his attention to the controversial officiating in the Soweto Derby and what he believes were questionable decisions in Sundowns’ own encounter.
“I have to confess that I didn’t see today’s match in the afternoon, but I just saw the (referee) incidents and I think everybody saw the incidents,” he said.
“It’s one more day again to remember for South Africa (football), I just want people to also see the penalties that we had today that were not given because the mistakes look like they always fall for the same side.
“For us, we have to play every match and concentrate on what we can control. What we can control is our performance. We try to avoid problems with the referees, do our job, think about football as best as we can and that’s the attitude that this team has to have.”
Cardoso reveals half-time talk
Meanwhile, Cardoso was pleased with the manner in which his side finished the job after taking a narrow 1-0 lead into half-time.
The reigning champions raised the tempo after the restart, scoring three more goals to put the contest beyond City’s reach and secure all three points.
“I think the team got excited as time went by and we found the right spaces. City is well coached and they are a team that has quality players,” Cardoso said.
“Halftime was an important team talk to reorganise ourselves and understand where the spaces were and we had to be more compact.
“It was very good from the players. They had a fantastic attitude and we knew that we had quality to bring from the bench.”
