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'Pass the ABC Motsepe League teams to me‚' says Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has already won the Telkom Knockout.
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has already won the Telkom Knockout.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

Pitso Mosimane has asked for another soft touch in the Nedbank Cup after his second stringers saw Mamelodi Sundowns through to the quarterfinals as they eliminated plucky Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in the second round on Sunday.

The draw for the last eight will be made on Tuesday evening at SuperSport’s television studios and the Sundowns coach was hoping for another amateur opponent in the next round.

“Maybe get me an Amavarara FC or something like that again while I’m fighting this Champions League‚” he said.

“Oh‚ are Amavarara out? OK‚ can you please get me Hungry Lions. Don’t eliminate the ABC Motsepe League teams‚ pass them to me.”

But both Amavarara and Hungry Lions fell by the wayside at the weekend as the last of the third tier teams were eliminated.

Instead he will now have to hope for one of the two Championship sides - Real Kings and TS Sporting - who remain in the field.

“I’ve also got a league I’m chasing‚ so I don’t need more grief‚” Mosimane added.

Mosimane will already be in Egypt preparing for the weekend's Caf Champions League tie against Al Ahly by the time the draw is made on Tuesday.

He will know that Sundowns have a strong chance for another cup title this season after winning the Telkom Knockout last year.

Asked whether the coast was now a lot clearer in the Nedbank Cup with Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United already eliminated‚ he said: “Yes‚ when you have two big teams out‚ of course the expectations are on you to do well but I don’t know how to answer that.

“It’s a cup tournament‚ you have to go through it! Sometimes the luck of the draw helps but it’s also what you do on the day.

“It’s a cup‚ a roll of the dice‚” he added.

Sundowns won 2-0 against fourth-tier VUT at Atteridgeville on Sunday using their reserves as they rested his regulars for Cairo.

“We played much better in the first half but the only difference was that we scored the goals in the second half.

“I was a little disappointed with our technique on the ball because we could not get the ball to where we wanted it to go.

"The guys were open‚ really really open‚ but we couldn’t get the ball to them.

“Our crossing was really just too generic.

"It was just crossing for the sake of crossing‚ not crossing to find the person who was free.

"Even our corner kicks were not very good. We knew that with the set pieces we could hurt them.

“But I think we must give them credit‚ they’re a good team. Well organised‚ well coached team. They should be able to play in the ABC Motsepe League‚” Mosimane added.

“We won the match‚ we went through‚ that’s all that matters.”