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Sundowns sure of seeing off Maniema at home

Astro turf blamed for Champs League stalemate

Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi.
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi.
Image: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

Mamelodi Sundowns have promised to make life difficult for their CAF Champions League opponents AS Maniema Union of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with a place in the group stages at stake.

The return leg of the second preliminary round tie will be played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday at 4pm. The sides played to an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first leg on an astro pitch in the DRC last week.

Sundowns beat Golden Arrows 1-0 in the league at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in midweek.

Co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi said the 2016 African champions gave the players the day off yesterday to recharge their batteries before the visit of Maniema. “We gave the boys a day off yesterday and we will start preparing for the Champions League game today.

"We have seen what the opponents present and believe that we have a team capable of beating them. The conditions were not favourable for us in Kindu. It was hot and we played on artificial turf. We made a lot of technical mistakes because of that and conceded because we were not familiar with the turf, and the ball stopped and we could not get the right power,” said Mngqithi.

However, the Brazilians will be in familiar territory in their Loftus slaughterhouse.

Mngqithi insisted that they have what it takes to finish off the opposition on home soil. “We're optimistic that we can pin them down and force them to make errors. We are confident that we can achieve this on our home ground.

"We will make life difficult for them. They have the potential to cause an upset but we will bring our A-game. We must stay confident and believe that Sundowns will pull through.”

The club confirmed that spectators would not be allowed into the stadium due to lockdown restrictions.

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