Thumping win for Sundowns but Mosimane not happy
Most coaches would have very few, if any issues at all, after watching their team thrash their opponents 4-0 with goals of the highest standard and enterprising football.
Head coach Pitso Mosimane and Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Manqoba Mngqithi during the CAF Champions League match between Mamelodi Sundowns and AS Otoho d’Oyo at Lucas Moripe Stadium. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
But Pitso Mosimane’s assessment of Mamelodi Sundowns’ impressive 4-0 thumping of Congo Brazzaville outfit Otoho d’Oyo in the Caf Champions League preliminary round spoke of a lesson to his players that they are not as good as they should be, even if they won the overall tie 5-2 on aggregate following the second leg at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
“My players must not be fooled by free-flowing and pretty football. Big teams like Barcelona and Manchester City take the game to goal number five, number six or seven and if you can get to eight goals, they go for it. But we concentrated on just enjoying ourselves and not killing the game,” said Mosimane.
READ: No Sundowns player will go cheaply – Pitso
“I need games like this so I can show them they are not at the level they should be, they should not be fooled by this game. It was a game where we needed the players who have not been scoring to score and if you have not been scoring, you must increase your numbers and that is why I am not very happy,” Mosimane added.
After judging Otoho’s performance in the first leg they lost 2-1, the Downs coach says he knew there and then that the visitors would stand no chance in the reverse fixture but had to be modest in the build-up to Saturday’s clash.
“I did not want to speak much about this team after the first leg even though things are factual. You bring extra motivation for your opponents. I knew we should be able to score four goals against them but if you say that before the match it is not right.
“People prepare for you and they work harder and they want to show you they can do it. I can say that now but people will say I’m talking now because we scored four goals.
“Football is football and we have to respect the opponents,” Mosimane said.
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