Miguel Cardoso hails Sundowns’ togetherness after MTN8 victory over Pirates

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has praised his players’ unity after they overcame a difficult preparation period to beat Orlando Pirates 2-0 and win the MTN8 trophy.

Sundowns secured the title in front of a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday, with Teboho Mokoena opening the scoring before Iqraam Rayners converted a late penalty to seal the victory.

The triumph marked Cardoso’s first domestic knockout trophy with Sundowns, who had to contend with several challenges in the build-up to the final.

The Portuguese coach revealed that some players had struggled for match fitness after the international break, while the absence of several key members of his squad made preparations difficult.

“It was a difficult start because some of our players didn’t play, didn’t even almost train recently,” Cardoso said.

“So the beginning was quite difficult, but we also knew that the end of the match and the beginning of matches are when Pirates are at their strongest. We knew we had to cope with it.”

Cardoso admitted that the three-week international break had complicated his preparations, particularly with several players away on national team duty.

“They were very hard weeks in terms of trying to find a way to play the game,” he added.

Despite the challenges, Sundowns made a positive start and took the lead through Mokoena, who scored early in the first half.

Cardoso said his team needed to improve its control of possession after the break to limit Pirates’ threat on the counter-attack.

“It was important at half-time that we needed to correct some things. We had to have more ball,” he said.

“You cannot play without a ball or make mistakes, especially in the middle that lead to strong transitions, where the vertical movements from Pirates can be very aggressive and difficult to control.”

The Sundowns coach felt his side managed those threats effectively, although he believed they could have extended their advantage before Rayners’ late penalty secured the trophy.

“I think we controlled it well, but we didn’t have the luck to score a second goal. I think then, in the end, we could have made even a better result,” Cardoso said.

“But it’s a fair, difficult victory. We deserved to win and to take the trophy, something that we defined as an objective at the beginning of the season.”

Cardoso also credited the collective spirit within his squad, insisting that togetherness was crucial to overcoming the obstacles they faced before and during the final.

“We always understood that only together, giving the best of each other, trying to come out from the mistakes together and trying to do even better, would probably put us closer to winning,” he said.

“We knew that the game would give different moments. We had to cope with them.”

The victory ended Sundowns’ wait for the MTN8 title and provided Cardoso with his first domestic cup success since taking charge of the South African club.