Sundowns on back foot ahead of City clash
Mamelodi Sundowns' veteran goalkeeper Denis Onyango says Masandawana are targeting the MTN8 to make up for their exit from the Caf Champions League.
Denis Onyango of Mamelodi Sundowns Pic Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
The Brazilians were eliminated at the group stage on Tuesday night when they could only manage a goalless draw at home to Horoya of Guinea.
For Downs to even think about getting their hands on the trophy and the R8 million that comes with it, they will need to get the better of Benni McCarthy’s Cape Town City at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in the second leg of their semifinal on Sunday. City won the first leg 1-0 in the Mother City on Saturday.
“We have to fight hard and give our best because this is our last throw of the dice after being knocked out of the Champions League, but we believe we can start off the season with the MTN8, which is a trophy that has never been in our cabinet (under Pitso Mosimane) and if we win this we will be brimming with confidence,” said Onyango.
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He said he and his team-mates cannot afford to sulk over the disappointment of failing to make it through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
“We cannot sit back and look at the result we had in midweek, it is a big game on Sunday and we know we are playing a quality team with a lot of good players.
“I hope we have a good game,” Onyango said.
“We are on the back foot now but we have the ability to overturn the result. City are very quick on the break, they are experienced players and they know our style of play. They have a quality coach because he played at the highest level and he knows how to deal with the players,” he added.
READ: There is no goal-scoring crisis at Sundowns – Onyango
Meanwhile, the Brazilians have been uncharacteristically goal-shy in recent games, having gone four games without a goal.
Onyango, however, says he, the back four and the midfielders need to do a lot more to help the guys spearheading Pitso Mosimane’s attack.
“We need to help them from the back and try to provide more balls for them … it is a team effort and we can’t blame them because then we will be dividing the team.”
