Miguel Cardoso praises Sundowns’ character after Kaizer Chiefs draw

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso praised his side’s character and attitude after the African champions recovered from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Sundowns fell behind after Chiefs capitalised on a misplaced pass in midfield, but the visitors responded with sustained pressure and eventually found an equaliser. Cardoso’s team continued to pursue a winning goal until the final whistle, although they had to settle for a point.

Despite Sundowns dropping two points, Cardoso said he was pleased with the quality and intensity of a match in which both teams were committed to collecting points.

“I’m critical about things that can be better, that can develop when matches don’t go into the directions they should go but today it’s time to praise, I think we had a beautiful football match,” Cardoso said after the game.

The Portuguese coach highlighted the tactical discipline shown by both sides, particularly during a tightly contested first half.

“It was a lot of tactical commitment, here and there, a bit stuck, especially in the first half, what is clear, regarding the importance of a result in the moment of this season, two teams that want to collect points, to move forward and place themselves as best as possible on the table.”

Sundowns had prepared for the possibility that Kaizer Chiefs would alter their usual approach. Cardoso said his side had not expected to face the five-man defensive system selected by Chiefs head coach Fernando da Cruz, but had been ready to adapt during the match.

“I think that we as Sundowns, we were loyal to our intention, how we prepared the match, we didn’t come to face a five-man defensive line, regarding the way that Kaizer Chiefs have been playing recently in the previous matches,” he explained.

“But we knew da Cruz is preparing matches according to the opponents, and we knew that something could be different, so we were prepared to have an analysis on what’s happening on the pitch, and that 5-3-2, we understood how to deal with it, we have played this in the past.”

Cardoso believed Sundowns had controlled much of the contest and had restricted Chiefs’ ability to use their pace on the counter-attack.

“Despite not many goal chances, there was a clear commitment from us in terms of managing the game and not allowing special transitions, we knew the players from Chiefs have a lot of speed so that, so you need to reorganise yourself,” he said.

The visitors were nevertheless punished when a loose ball in the centre of the pitch presented Chiefs with the chance to take the lead.

“A mistake from a ball played in the middle allowed Chiefs to score, that’s how football is sometimes, the use of others’ mistakes to score goals. That’s what happened, we were under control and then we were losing but we have character, attitude and quality.”

Sundowns manage demanding schedule

Cardoso also had to consider the physical condition of his players, with Sundowns having completed three matches in seven days.

He acknowledged that several members of his squad were feeling the effects of the schedule, while praising the substitutes who helped the champions maintain their intensity during the closing stages.

“I think our reaction was intentional, a lot of capacity to go forward, players who dropped energy, not only Chiefs played recently, we did three matches in seven days,” he said.

“Tashreeq and van Wyk was tired, Pitso played a lot for the first time in a while. We brought energy and commitment and did what we had to do, chase the victory until the last minute.”

Although Sundowns were unable to complete the comeback with a winning goal, Cardoso’s overall assessment focused on the competitive nature of the fixture and his players’ response after conceding.

The result leaves the defending African champions continuing their progress through what is already proving to be a demanding early-season campaign.