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The Brazilians had the best of Celtic and could have won if they had been more clinical in their cup match.
It’s a bit early to read too much about the Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 loss to Bloemfontein Celtic in Sunday’s MTN8 quarterfinal at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Sometimes it’s just not meant to be your day, and this seems to be the case with Sundowns, who strangely for a club of its success, has not won the MTN8 in its current form. The last time they won the competition in the top eight was in 2007, when it was still known as the Absa Cup.
Perhaps it was only meant to be Bloemfontein Celtic night, after the Free State team hadn’t beaten the Brazilians since 2016, an 11-game streak.
It turned out that a set piece, a second-half free kick by Ronald Pfumbidzai deliciously headed by Victor Letsoalo, was enough to secure the victory for a Celtic side who honestly didn’t enjoy many scoring opportunities that night.
Sundowns, on the other hand, had several very good scoring chances. They even got the ball into the back of the net via a Peter Shalulile header in the second half, but the Namibian’s effort was ruled out, correctly.
There was also a shot from Hlompho Kekana that hit the wood, while Celtic goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane made a series of good saves throughout the 90 minutes in Pretoria. The likes of Gaston Sirino and Themba Zwane missed some decent opportunities as well.
The point is, with a bit more luck, the Sundowns could easily have scored a goal or two and might as well have been heading to the semi-finals instead of the Free State side.
Therefore, it would be unfair to make early judgments about the Brazilians’ new training setup, which consists of Manqoba Mngqithi, Rhulani Mokwena and Steve Komphela. The trio, of course, replaced the man who won five league titles with Sundowns, Pitso Mosimane.
What they can take away from Sunday’s outing at Atteridgeville is that there is a lot of energy and creativity in the Sundowns ranks, as evidenced by the opportunities created.
There was also decent flow and cohesion in possession, a positive sign considering several new players made their debuts, including Shalulile, Nyiko Mobbie, Haashim Domingo, Kermit Erasmus and Aubrey Modiba.
However, the stakes will rise for Tshwane’s team and his new coaching team, as his first league game with Kaizer Chiefs awaits next Saturday.
