Mamelodi Sundowns were not very sharp and convincing - Mngqithi

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The log leaders fired blanks against a team that has gone for six consecutive PSL games without tasting victory

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has admitted that things are “not looking good” in their camp after failing to score in two successive Premier Soccer League matches.

The Brazilians were held 0-0 at home by Bloemfontein Celtic on Tuesday and for the first time this season, went for two straight games without winning and scoring after also being restricted to a goalless draw against third-placed SuperSport United last Saturday.

What could make their latest share of spoils more of a concern is that they drew with a team just three points better off than bottom-placed TS Galaxy.

“This was a little bit of a tough one. I think we got some opportunities where we could have opened the game up because we knew it was never going to be easy,” Mngqithi told SuperSport TV.

“They were sitting a lot and not giving us space behind the defence. We thought the chances we got in the first half, Kermit [Erasmus] was very unfortunate, I believe he could have easily score a hattrick. But he was unfortunate. We must accept that.

“But I still believe we were not at our sharpest point. We were not very sharp and convincing. Maybe when we made the substitutions in the second half to refresh the team, that is when we started to look a lot quicker on combinations and more precision to try and get behind the defence.

“But all-in-all I think it was a performance that one would have expected. But what can we do? We can just appreciate that we did not concede again and we have not lost a match.

“They had some scary moments on counter-attacks and they always trouble us with counter-attacks but I think we dealt with those situations a little bit better. But it is just not looking good when you are not scoring in two matches in a row being a team like Sundowns.”

Tuesday’s result came despite Downs fielding an almost full-strength side, including the attacking trio of Themba Zwane, Peter Shalulile and Erasmus.

The draw against Celtic could put question marks on Sundowns’ ability to claim a fourth successive PSL title after they were also exposed in the 1-1 draw against Maritzburg United earlier in the season.

The Tshwane giants were the first team to hand a point to Maritzburg, who went into that match on the backdrop of five straight defeats.

In their second game of the campaign, they were also held 0-0 by struggling Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila.

The Brazilians now prepare to meet Swallows FC on Saturday in what would be another top-of-the-table clash.

“We have to go back and work. Hopefully in the big one we will be able to get a good result,” concluded Mngqithi.

2021-01-19 23:00:09

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