Sundowns unfazed by revenge seeking Gallants
Sundowns will face Marumo Gallants on Thursday evening at the Toyota Stadium.
Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena says the Brazilians are ready to fight tooth and nail against Gallants. (Picture: Lee Warren/Gallo Images)
It’s fast-forward a few months this evening at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein when the Free State capital hosts a rematch of last season’s Nedbank Cup final.
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The reigning champions, Mamelodi Sundowns take on last year’s runners-up Marumo Gallants (kick-off 6pm).
Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena knows, while his side are still overwhelming favourites, he understands that there might well be an element of revenge coming from Raymond Mdaka’s side.
However, the Downs mentor says makes no bones about the fact that the intention is to retain the cup.
“We always have confidence in our team and we go into every game with the objective to win. We don’t just want to win the Nedbank Cup but want to win all of the three competitions that are still available to us this season.
“We will do what we can and all that is humanly possible to win. All of the games that we are going to play from now on are games of consequence because they influence the success or failure of the club,” said Mokwena.
“We also look at the season so far and say we are proud of the growth and evolution of the team and proud of where we are.
“They (Gallants) are a team that is growing in confidence, especially with the stimulation from the Confederation Cup and they have a number of experienced players in the team. It should be a good game and we are looking forward to the match,” he added.
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Meanwhile, Mokwena went on to embrace his latest technical team member, Michael Loftman, who holds Uefa A Licence and a Master’s Degree in Sports Science.
Loftman is the club’s set-piece coach and Mokwena cannot wait to start counting the number of goals that Sundowns will produce from set-plays.
“It helps when someone has got incredible qualities and when you have good relations, it also helps. He is a very qualified coach and he is a hard worker. He is someone who understands the South African game well now as he has been in the country for some time,” said Mokwena.
To watch how Downs beat Gallants to win the cup last season, click here.
