Cardoso sees Chiefs warning signs as Sundowns lose MTN8 semi-final first leg

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says his side must learn from a costly lapse in concentration after their 1-0 defeat by Golden Arrows in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals.

Sede Dion scored 10 minutes before half-time to give Golden Arrows victory at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The result leaves Sundowns needing to overturn the deficit in the return fixture if they are to reach the final.

Cardoso drew parallels between the goal conceded against Arrows and a similar mistake made by Sundowns in their match against Kaizer Chiefs. The Portuguese coach said his team lost focus after an interruption early in the game, allowing their opponents to attack when Sundowns were poorly positioned.

“I think we had a good start, first 20 minutes until the substitution of the goalkeeper from Golden Arrows, it took a little bit of the rhythm of the game. We were ok seven minutes to make a substitution and then we fell asleep, we fell asleep until halftime,” Cardoso told SuperSport after the game.

“Completely asleep and out of a mistake similar to the one we did in the match against Chiefs where we see we lose the ball and out of position for the rest-defence and we still make a mistake by dropping a player in the front and we suffered a goal.

“And it’s time to learn how to deal with these situations obviously, otherwise you cannot continue to dominate the game and suffer from a simple action. Two times they were able to counter-attack.

“And two times they were able to enter the box to take danger and the story of the game is creating opportunities one after the other and the goalkeeper very well that did very well.

“They weren’t able to oppose to our target; we also didn’t manage to get a lot of shots on target as we could because they defended very well and halftime of the match let’s second half when we go to Arrows what would have,” he added.

The defeat came despite Sundowns controlling periods of the contest and creating opportunities, according to Cardoso. However, Golden Arrows’ defensive organisation prevented the visitors from turning their possession and openings into enough attempts on target.

Cardoso acknowledged that Arrows were able to threaten Sundowns on two counter-attacks, with both moves reaching the penalty area. The second of those situations produced the decisive goal, after Sundowns lost the ball and failed to maintain their defensive structure.

Golden Arrows goalkeeper also played an important role in preserving the lead, with Cardoso praising his performance as Sundowns searched for an equaliser. The home side’s defending and the goalkeeper’s saves ensured that Dion’s first-half effort remained the only goal of the match.

Sundowns now face the task of recovering from the narrow first-leg defeat in the second meeting with Arrows. Cardoso’s immediate focus is on ensuring his team avoids the kind of concentration lapse that also cost them against Chiefs, while finding a way to break through an Arrows defence that proved difficult to penetrate.