Saile selection caught Mamelodi Sundowns off guard, says Siwelele coach Mosoetsa

Siwelele caretaker coach Godfrey Mosoetsa says Mamelodi Sundowns were unsettled by Christian Saile’s surprise selection as the visitors’ number nine in Wednesday’s 3-0 Betway Premiership defeat.

Saile made his first start of the season as Siwelele Sa Masele looked threatening on the counter-attack, particularly during the opening half. The sides were level at the interval, but Sundowns took control after the break and punished their opponents.

Mosoetsa said Sundowns had not expected Saile to lead the attack and struggled to deal with his performance.

“If you look at the strikers that we have… the one that was a surprise was us playing Saile, I mean Sundowns didn’t expect that we would play Saile and the way he played, if he could have carried on playing like that and the players understanding what we wanted to achieve,” Mosoetsa told reporters at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

“Because he (Saile) gave them a lot of problems unexpectedly. It could have been a different ball game. I’m not saying we could have won the game, had we capitalized on those chances but it was something that surprised them.”

The caretaker coach said Siwelele had prepared for the way The Brazilians use their wide players and transition quickly into attack.

“We knew exactly what to expect, we know how they play, with the wingers staying wide and in our township language you would say they are ‘cheating’ but it’s a tactical ploy that they are applying,” he said.

“They stay there and during transitions they are very dangerous and with combination play, variations, movements to cause chaos and create spaces.”

Mosoetsa felt Sundowns’ squad depth ultimately proved decisive, particularly after Siwelele had played Kaizer Chiefs in a high-profile fixture on Sunday.

“So they are a team that we know. Sometimes you plan around certain players, they also caught us by surprise. If you look at the team that was playing and the team that was on the bench, any of the two could have still given us problems, because of the quality of players that they have,” he said.

He added that Siwelele’s players had made a strong effort but were unable to raise their performance further when it was required.

“And the players that we have, they are bringing something but you can only play to the best of your ability. So when you needed them to go one step higher, that’s where we couldn’t go,” the veteran coach said.

Siwelele also began the season without several important players who left during the off-season, including goalkeeper Ricardo Goss, Ghampani Lungu, Neo Rapoo, Bohlale Ngwato, Nyiko Mobbie, Gape Moralo and Kgaogelo Sekgota.