Cardoso blames Loftus Versfeld pitch after Sundowns lose CAF Super Cup to USM Alger

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has criticised the playing surface at Loftus Versfeld Stadium following his side’s 3-1 defeat by USM Alger in the CAF Super Cup.

The South African champions were hoping to claim their second Super Cup title, having won the competition in 2017, but suffered a disappointing evening against the Algerian side.

Sundowns endured an early setback when midfielder Nuno Santos picked up an injury during the warm-up and was replaced by Cassius Mailula.

Despite the disruption, the Brazilians fought back after Zakaria Draoui had opened the scoring for USM Alger, with Iqraam Rayners converting a penalty to restore parity in the first half.

However, Sundowns struggled to recover after conceding further goals, with Cardoso pointing to defensive errors, injuries and the poor condition of the pitch as factors behind the defeat.

Speaking to SABC Sport, the Portuguese coach described the encounter as an uncharacteristic performance from his team.

“Yes, a very uncharacteristic match since the beginning. If you want to speak about what happened before the match, you’ll never believe. Of course, there were a few mistakes, a lot of mistakes, mostly on the goals. We made mistakes,” Cardoso said.

He also questioned the condition of the playing surface, arguing that it prevented Sundowns from playing their usual possession-based football.

“I think we were strong while we tried to resist, but then we could not. In the second half, with the pitch, it was very difficult to play. It was very difficult to overcome the difficulties altogether,” he added.

Cardoso further highlighted the disruption caused by losing an important player before kick-off, insisting that his side faced several challenges throughout the encounter.

He recalled a previous visit to Loftus Versfeld, saying the condition of the pitch had similarly made it difficult for opponents to impose themselves against Sundowns.

“When I came out, I saw the pitch, then I understood that Sundowns could not use the football they are used to play.

“It made me remember when I was lucky here playing against Sundowns. We just resisted because the pitch was exactly like this. This is not the condition to play the game for us. It’s not how we want to play and can play,” he said.

The Sundowns coach apologised to the club’s supporters, chairman and board for failing to deliver the trophy, admitting that the defeat had left him disappointed.

“I think the boys tried, but the mistakes that we made at moments when we should not have were not possible to overcome.

“Very uncharacteristic. I’m very sorry for our fans. They were here today, we wanted to give them joy for our chairman, board, and I feel a lot of pain today because of that,” Cardoso added.