Modiba believes delayed Sundowns start could give them MTN8 edge

Mamelodi Sundowns defender Aubrey Modiba says the club’s postponed start to the Betway Premiership season could work in their favour as they prepare to face Polokwane City in the MTN8.

The Brazilians were due to begin their title defence against Marumo Gallants last weekend, but the match was postponed because of exceptional circumstances affecting the club.

As a result, Miguel Cardoso’s side will open their competitive campaign in the MTN8 rather than in the league. Their opponents, Polokwane City, have already played their first Premiership match of the season.

Modiba admitted Sundowns would have preferred to start at the same time as the rest of the division, particularly because early points could prove important in the title race.

Speaking to journalists at the MTN8 launch in Johannesburg on Wednesday, the Bafana Bafana international said the squad had prepared to play on the opening weekend.

“Yeah, I think mentally we prepared to play on the first, all of us,” Modiba said.

“I think everyone would have loved to play because we don’t want to, you know, fall behind because teams are collecting points and for us, we don’t want to play catch-up games.”

The defender accepted, however, that the postponement was beyond the team’s control and that the players had to respond professionally to the circumstances.

“But, you know, there’s nothing we could do because of the situation. Yeah, we had to accept that.”

Sundowns will now use the additional preparation time to assess a Polokwane City team that has undergone changes during the off-season.

Known as Rise and Shine, Polokwane City started their league campaign under new head coach Willy Moloto with a 2-1 victory over Richards Bay FC last weekend.

That result has given Sundowns recent footage of their MTN8 opponents, including information about how Moloto has set up the side and how the new players have settled into the team.

“As we turn focus on the MTN8, for our game against Polokwane City, they’ve already played. So, I think also it gives us something to watch how they play this season because they’ve got a new coach.”

“They’ve brought in new players as well. So, yeah, that game will help us to analyse them, know their strengths and weaknesses going into that game.”

While Polokwane City have been able to gather competitive-match information about themselves, Modiba believes the delay has also limited their knowledge of the defending champions before the new season has begun.

Sundowns have not yet played a competitive fixture under Cardoso in the new campaign, meaning Polokwane City have fewer fresh indications of how the Brazilians may approach the season.

“It’s an advantage for us because they don’t know a lot about us this season, but they know us as players, and hopefully that can play to our advantage,” he added.

Sundowns would have preferred to begin their league title defence alongside the rest of the competition, but Modiba believes the extra time to prepare and study Polokwane City could provide a useful benefit when the two sides meet in the MTN8.

The Brazilians will therefore start their season with the cup tie, aiming to turn an unwanted delay into a winning opening.