Da Gama positive lowly Magesi will not be relegated

Magesi coach Owen da Gama is optimistic his side will survive relegation but will need to get rid of their approach of using a low block.

The Limpopo side remained bottom of the table following their 1-2 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.

Wonderboy Makhubu gave Dikwena tša Meetse a lead in the 12th minute, but Lucas Ribeiro Costa and Tashreeq Morris scored in the second half to hand Sundowns the three points.

Da Gama was pleased with the first-half performance, but was critical as his players opted to sit back in the second stanza, and that allowed Sundowns to come at them and eventually score twice.

"In football, it is easy to teach new things but to get rid of the bad habit [is not] ... that's where the challenge comes in. This is a team, if you look at the stats, that has conceded the most goals from outside the box because they play very deep in their box," Da Gama explained to the media after the match.

"So, we worked on this very hard and first half, you could see it was very tight, we took control of defence and the midfield and were creating chances.

"But for some reason, we dropped by sitting in the box and invited Sundowns to come in the second half. You cannot invite a team like Sundowns and give them space. I still believe that it is a work in progress and if the boys continue with what they did in the first half I think things will turn around very soon."

Da Gama also feels the pressure of being in the relegation zone is making the players panic, hence they opt to sit back and protect what they have.

"The boys are playing with a lot of pressure, when you are down there, there is pressure and these boys are fighting to get out there and they are putting too much pressure on themselves," he said.

"I think if we can work hard and continue with what we did in the first half, putting pressure on the ball, I think we will start to make a good impression in the league."

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