Mamelodi Sundowns have become almost unbeatable under Pitso Mosimane‚ SuperSport United centreback Morgan Gould admitted ahead of his side’s MTN8 quarterfinal against the Brazilians.
Ambitious Nedbank Cup champions SuperSport meet Premier League and Telkom Knockout champions Sundowns in a Tshwane derby quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
Gould‚ the 33-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs defender thrown a lifeline by SuperSport coach Stuart Baxter with a one-year contract at the club‚ admitted Caf Champions League semifinalists Downs are a hard nut to crack right now for any side.
“They’re doing a good job on the continent. They did very well last season‚ hence they took a cup and the league to their trophy cabinet‚” Gould said.
“They’ve got a good team and good players. Their coach is football crazy.
“And you know how it is – if you have a coach like that who preps his team well‚ they’re almost unbeatable.
“But we’re coming into this game with one thing on our mind‚ and that’s to proceed to the next round.
“It’s football. On the day any lapse of concentration will cost you. And against a team like Sundowns you cannot afford any lapses because they’ve got good‚ quality players.
“They’ve got players who can change a game with a moment of brilliance. So we just need to be wary of that fact.”
The match-up sees Mosimane and Baxter reignite their healthy rivalry. The two have shared the last four Premier League trophies between them – Mosimane with two at Downs‚ and Baxter two at his previous club‚ Chiefs.
“’The Gaffer’ [Baxter] has a lot of knowledge on the game. The same could be said about the coach we’re coming up against‚” Gould said.
“It’s going to be about who get’s their tactics spot on. And for the players it’s about who applies those the best.”
The defender said Matsatsantsa took positives from a disappointing 1-0 defeat to 10-man Platinum Stars in Rustenburg in their opening league game of 2016-17 on Wednesday.
“I think if you were a coach and you looked at the holistic picture‚ yes we lost the game‚ but I think we won the battle‚” Gould said.
“You can never be happy with losing. But you can take a number of positives out of the game.
“They had a half-chance and took it. We had a number of chances to bury the game.”
Sundowns missed the opening round of PSL matches as they were wrapping up Champions League Group B‚ losing their final game 3-1 in Nigeria against Enyimba on Tuesday. Downs had already guaranteed first place‚ and a place in the semis‚ going into the game.
‘Football crazy’ Pitso Mosimane makes Sundowns almost unbeatable‚ Gould admits
Mamelodi Sundowns have become almost unbeatable under Pitso Mosimane‚ SuperSport United centreback Morgan Gould admitted ahead of his side’s MTN8 quarterfinal against the Brazilians.
Ambitious Nedbank Cup champions SuperSport meet Premier League and Telkom Knockout champions Sundowns in a Tshwane derby quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
Gould‚ the 33-year-old former Kaizer Chiefs defender thrown a lifeline by SuperSport coach Stuart Baxter with a one-year contract at the club‚ admitted Caf Champions League semifinalists Downs are a hard nut to crack right now for any side.
“They’re doing a good job on the continent. They did very well last season‚ hence they took a cup and the league to their trophy cabinet‚” Gould said.
“They’ve got a good team and good players. Their coach is football crazy.
“And you know how it is – if you have a coach like that who preps his team well‚ they’re almost unbeatable.
“But we’re coming into this game with one thing on our mind‚ and that’s to proceed to the next round.
“It’s football. On the day any lapse of concentration will cost you. And against a team like Sundowns you cannot afford any lapses because they’ve got good‚ quality players.
“They’ve got players who can change a game with a moment of brilliance. So we just need to be wary of that fact.”
The match-up sees Mosimane and Baxter reignite their healthy rivalry. The two have shared the last four Premier League trophies between them – Mosimane with two at Downs‚ and Baxter two at his previous club‚ Chiefs.
“’The Gaffer’ [Baxter] has a lot of knowledge on the game. The same could be said about the coach we’re coming up against‚” Gould said.
“It’s going to be about who get’s their tactics spot on. And for the players it’s about who applies those the best.”
The defender said Matsatsantsa took positives from a disappointing 1-0 defeat to 10-man Platinum Stars in Rustenburg in their opening league game of 2016-17 on Wednesday.
“I think if you were a coach and you looked at the holistic picture‚ yes we lost the game‚ but I think we won the battle‚” Gould said.
“You can never be happy with losing. But you can take a number of positives out of the game.
“They had a half-chance and took it. We had a number of chances to bury the game.”
Sundowns missed the opening round of PSL matches as they were wrapping up Champions League Group B‚ losing their final game 3-1 in Nigeria against Enyimba on Tuesday. Downs had already guaranteed first place‚ and a place in the semis‚ going into the game.
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