Cardoso prepares Sundowns for Mohafe test in Betway Premiership

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is preparing for another difficult meeting with Phuti Mohafe when Marumo Gallants visit Loftus Stadium in the Betway Premiership tonight. Mohafe has recently taken charge of Gallants after spending three years at Polokwane City.

During his time at Polokwane, Mohafe built a side that repeatedly made life difficult for Sundowns. The Brazilians found those meetings especially demanding when they travelled to Limpopo, and Cardoso still remembers Sundowns’ latest visit to face the coach’s former team.

Cardoso also highlighted the quality available in the Gallants squad, identifying both the players and Mohafe’s coaching as reasons for the challenge. He said Sundowns would need more than optimism to get through the fixture, with preparation and execution required against an opponent familiar with making the champions uncomfortable.

The Sundowns coach has also questioned the use of smaller venues for major league matches. He recalled that many of the games against Polokwane were held at the city’s second stadium, which he felt reduced the space and conditions in which Sundowns wanted to play.

A similar change was sought for Sundowns’ fixture against TS Galaxy, but the league did not approve the move. Cardoso contrasted that experience with the high-quality playing surfaces and stadium conditions associated with major matches at the Africa Cup of Nations, the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

However, Cardoso does not believe a difficult result can be explained only by the venue. Sundowns previously endured a challenging match against Galaxy despite playing in a large stadium with a good pitch. For him, the response must come from the team’s mentality, commitment and ability to impose its level of football.

That approach will be tested again against Mohafe, whose record of troubling Sundowns at Polokwane gives the Gallants coach an immediate storyline in his new role. Cardoso wants his players to meet the challenge through their work rather than rely on hope.