Manqoba Mngqithi has admitted that it’s always difficult for him to play against a team that’s coached by Owen da Gama.
The Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach said this following the Brazilians’ 1-0 win over Da Gama’s TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Sunday afternoon.
The win courtesy of Peter Shalulile’s goal took Sundowns to 57 points from 26 matches with four games before they wrap up the season. Second-placed AmaZulu have 50 points in 26 games.
“Playing against Owen and any team that he coaches is never easy because the team has got good intensity. They don’t give you time on the ball. They work very hard,” Mngqithi said.
“We had to break down and get something. Fortunately, we managed to get our goal, which I think opened the game up a little bit. We started getting some inroads behind that defence because initially they were sitting too deep and they got desperate and opened up a little bit. That’s when we even brought Peter to come play as a nine because we were looking for the space behind.”
The former Lamontville Golden Arrows coach also revealed that the plan was to get an insurance goal immediately after scoring. But the second goal didn’t come.
“The most unfortunate part is that we struggled to get that insurance goal. It’s never easy to play against Owen. One must thank the boys, they worked very hard considering that we have been playing back-to-back games,” said Mngqithi.
Da Gama, meanwhile, said he was proud of his players despite losing to Sundowns. He added that things could have changed had Lindokuhle Mbatha converted the penalty, which was saved by Sundowns goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.
“We had a lot of injuries, unfortunately. But I’m very proud of the boys. I thought we kept the ball on the ground. The guys played fantastic football,” Da Gama said.
“We missed a penalty. I think that could have changed the complexion of the game. I thought we gave it our all. We pushed as hard as we can. From a tactical perspective, I was very, very happy with the way we played. There was little space for Shalulile and Gift Motupa.”
