Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso said his side’s first home defeat in 15 months was “a painful day” as the African champions were beaten 1-0 by Lamontville Golden Arrows in Atteridgeville on Sunday in the first leg of their MTN8 semifinal.
Sundowns have had mediocre returns in the competition over the last few years, having won the MTN8 only once in the last 18 years, and now must win the return leg in Umlazi in Durban next Sunday to stand any chance of reaching the final.
“It's obviously a painful day,” said Cardoso after the match, where Sede Dion scored the only goal in the 38th minute.
“We had expectations that after these 90 minutes, we would be sitting in a position where we would be more comfortable with victory.
“The exact opposite happened. So it's a proof of character that you're going to have to show and to give,” he said of his players.
“It's also a moment for the coaches to make evaluations on some of the boys, some of the things we experimented with and understand also how we're going to build a team for the future, regarding consistency and capacity, of course.”
Cardoso challenged his players to bounce back in the second leg.
“I just hope that the pain I feel today is felt by the players, because if the pain I feel is felt by the players, there will be a lot of energy next weekend.
“Today is a very, very difficult day for me. I confess. This pain must be transformed into positive energy because there are still 90 minutes to play.
“The character we're going to show in the pursuit of that objective will come, of course, from the energy we can take from today’s loss.
“Let's hope the boys understand the message,” he added.
Cardoso said Sundowns had made a comfortable start on Sunday but lost their focus after a lengthy delay when Arrows goalkeeper Edward Maova was injured.
They then gave up a goal in the 38th minute as they were caught by a quick counter-attack.
“It's a mistake similar to the one we did against (Kaizer) Chiefs, where we were balanced in attack and we lost the ball and we jumped in the front with numbers to try to aggress and get caught.”
In the second half, Cardoso brought in substitutes early to try and get back into the game.
“The idea was obviously to renew the energy, bring new energy, and we fought all the second half for a goal. There were a lot of shots, a lot of shots that their keeper saved. He had a very good game. Also, a lot of shots that didn't hit the target, in the end it was 14 shots off target.
“And I think a little bit of misfortune didn't give us a goal in the match. But, um, obviously not the best result, but we are only halfway through the tie,” Cardoso added.