Mamelodi Sundowns boss Cardoso praises ‘fantastic’ 4-2 win over Golden Arrows

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso described his side’s 4-2 victory over Golden Arrows as a “fantastic” and “beautiful” result after the Brazilians overturned their first-leg defeat to remain in contention for the MTN8 title.

Sundowns needed to win outright after losing the opening match of the tie, and their success secured a place in the final against defending champions Orlando Pirates.

Pirates reached the showpiece event after beating Sekhukhune United 4-0 on aggregate on Saturday. They are now chasing an unprecedented fifth successive MTN8 title, while four-time champions Sundowns will attempt to reclaim the trophy.

“It’s not easy here to win 4-2, today we made a fantastic, beautiful result. Four goals scores so fantastic, fantastic anyway we know what we had to do – the first goal will be very emotional positive, we knew that we had to circulate a lot the ball until we find the way there and from there the drop in energy on Arrows will happen,” Cardoso told SuperSport TV.

The Sundowns manager said his team understood the importance of scoring first and then adding a second goal to make the tie more difficult for Golden Arrows.

“Also, we knew the second goal would kill the game but make it very difficult than the away goals will not be on our other side and we worked on that of course. I think the team deserved, congratulations today, positive mindset, right attitude established and very good behaviour on the pitch. But then we have to come here again in one week and in the middle – let’s prepare Milford,” he added.

Despite his satisfaction with the result, Cardoso expressed frustration at the way Sundowns conceded, with individual errors contributing to the goals they allowed.

The coach called on his players to remain united rather than focusing on mistakes made by individuals, insisting the team’s overall effort deserved recognition.

“Sure, sure, again we suffered goals from a mistake in a ball that we used, something the boys really need to take into consideration because we’re being penalised individually, characterised by here and then individual mistakes.

“Anyway, for me it’s always looking at the right side of the question and see how the boys worked today. It’s very difficult for me to complain on a player that loses the ball but run for 90 minutes and put so much effort,” Cardoso said.

The Portuguese coach said Sundowns would use the tie as an opportunity to correct their errors and improve before returning to action in one week.

“Let’s continue work, put to effort, correct the mistakes, become stronger, away from these fantastic ambience from our supporters who feel they understood the message from previous match and again today I repeat it’s not easy to win here 4-2.”

Sundowns’ victory came after a high-pressure contest in which they had to overturn the disadvantage from the first leg. Cardoso praised the attitude of his players, while acknowledging that conceding twice showed there was still work to do.

The result now sets up a final against Orlando Pirates, who will be seeking to extend their remarkable run in the competition. For Sundowns, the immediate focus will be maintaining the momentum generated by their comeback and addressing the defensive mistakes identified by Cardoso.