Osaka‚ Japan - Percy Tau says while he might have stunned the Fifa Club World Cup with a sublime goal as Mamelodi Sundowns bowed out with a 4-1 defeat against Jeonduk Hyundai Motors‚ he still has a long way to go perfecting his skills.
As Downs left the tournament as the sixth-placed finishers with a disappointing defeat against polished Jeonduk‚ the Asian champions from South Korea‚ Tau scored a goal of beauty as a consolation that will have boosted the 22-year-old’s international standing.
With Downs 3-0 down at half time‚ three minutes back from the break Tau chased a long ball into space down the left‚ cut in and beat centreback Lim Jongeun‚ then struck a superb shot from an impossible angle to beat goalkeeper Hong Jungnam.
Tau was singled out by his coach‚ Pitso Mosimane‚ as having displayed at a young age that he has the potential to be able to perform on any stage. Tau‚ though‚ said he still has much to learn.
“I still have a long way to go. But I’ll get better – I’m still maturing‚” he said after being arguably Downs’ man-of-the-match against a Jeonduk side who were excellent stifling the Brazilians’ dangerous attack‚ but struggled to contain Tau’s dangerous running.
“Playing at this international level helps a lot. And it comes early for me at 22 – so it’s quite OK.
“But for me‚ if we were winning I was going to celebrate the goal. Given we were losing‚ I was just thinking about getting the ball back to the halfway line and try and see if we can’t get another one.
“Because they scored three in the first half‚ and we could have done the same.
"Like it happened in our previous game against Antlers‚ where we played better and created a lot of chances in the first half‚ then they did in the second.”
Sundowns lost their opening quarterfinal 2-0 against host club and J-League champions Antlers having missed a string of chances in the first half.
They found superbly organised Jeonduk‚ whose physicality and work-rate were immense‚ far tougher to break down.
Antlers’ 3-0 deconstruction of Colombians Atletico Nacional in the the semifinal later on Wednesday in a match of high intensity reinforced the step up a level that Sundowns have had to make as the first Southern African team at the Club World Cup. - TMG Digital
Percy Tau introduces himself to the world in dramatic fashion in Japan
Osaka‚ Japan - Percy Tau says while he might have stunned the Fifa Club World Cup with a sublime goal as Mamelodi Sundowns bowed out with a 4-1 defeat against Jeonduk Hyundai Motors‚ he still has a long way to go perfecting his skills.
As Downs left the tournament as the sixth-placed finishers with a disappointing defeat against polished Jeonduk‚ the Asian champions from South Korea‚ Tau scored a goal of beauty as a consolation that will have boosted the 22-year-old’s international standing.
With Downs 3-0 down at half time‚ three minutes back from the break Tau chased a long ball into space down the left‚ cut in and beat centreback Lim Jongeun‚ then struck a superb shot from an impossible angle to beat goalkeeper Hong Jungnam.
Tau was singled out by his coach‚ Pitso Mosimane‚ as having displayed at a young age that he has the potential to be able to perform on any stage. Tau‚ though‚ said he still has much to learn.
“I still have a long way to go. But I’ll get better – I’m still maturing‚” he said after being arguably Downs’ man-of-the-match against a Jeonduk side who were excellent stifling the Brazilians’ dangerous attack‚ but struggled to contain Tau’s dangerous running.
“Playing at this international level helps a lot. And it comes early for me at 22 – so it’s quite OK.
“But for me‚ if we were winning I was going to celebrate the goal. Given we were losing‚ I was just thinking about getting the ball back to the halfway line and try and see if we can’t get another one.
“Because they scored three in the first half‚ and we could have done the same.
"Like it happened in our previous game against Antlers‚ where we played better and created a lot of chances in the first half‚ then they did in the second.”
Sundowns lost their opening quarterfinal 2-0 against host club and J-League champions Antlers having missed a string of chances in the first half.
They found superbly organised Jeonduk‚ whose physicality and work-rate were immense‚ far tougher to break down.
Antlers’ 3-0 deconstruction of Colombians Atletico Nacional in the the semifinal later on Wednesday in a match of high intensity reinforced the step up a level that Sundowns have had to make as the first Southern African team at the Club World Cup. - TMG Digital
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