Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena. Picture: Ampe Rogerio/BackpagePix
The impressive wins against Summerfield Dynamos and Golden Arrows in the Nedbank Cup and DStv Premiership give Mamelodi Sundowns all the confidence they need ahead of the Caf Champions League clash against Petro Atletico as they gear up for the first-leg quarter final on Saturday evening.
Downs co-head coach Rhulani Mokwena says the Achilles heel, however, could be that the Angolans have a similar style of play to that of Masandawana’s famous shoe-shine and piano brand of football.
“They have a very similar identity to us, they like to dominate the game and have possession.
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“We know what is at stake and ours is to put the final preparations and fine tune our schemes to give ourselves a chance to be in position to progress to the semifinals in the second leg,” said Mokwena.
“The good thing is that we come from two very good results where we scored a lot of goals and the game against Golden Arrows was a demonstration of how much we’ve put in from the beginning of the season up until now.
“We go into this game with a lot of confidence and the players understand that these are games of consequences and we go into these rounds with a clear understanding that we are playing for something and we have some form of determination,” he added.
Even though it is not an official stance of the club, one can assume that the Brazilians will play the remaining games of the season in honour of their late long-time supporter, John Madumo, popularly known as John Black or Master Drummer. Madumo was the lead drummer that rang in full blast in the stands. He was laid to rest last week.
“From that perspective, we move with confidence and belief in our approach. We have confidence in the team’s ability to fight for each other and even in certain moments during the season where it was difficult, we have shown that we can stay together and see through those moments.
“We know that playing against a team like Petro, there will be difficult moments and ours is to make sure that we are ready to be resilient and fight for the badge and our supporters,” Mokwena said.