Mamelodi Sundowns were able to take the MTN8 trophy away from Orlando Pirates despite a difficult start to Saturday’s final in Durban and also a difficult three-week preparation period, according to coach Miguel Cardoso.
The Portuguese coach, who won his first domestic knockout trophy with the 2-0 win over the holders at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium, said there was much adversity to overcome but that the team’s togetherness propelled them to victory.
“It was a difficult start because some of our players didn't play, didn't even almost train recently. So the beginning was quite difficult, but we also knew that the end of the match and the beginning of matches are when Pirates are at their strongest. We knew we had to cope with it.”
Cardoso said the three-week international break without many of his players also made preparing for the final difficult. “They were very hard weeks in terms of trying to find a way to play the game.”
But despite the obstacles, Sundowns did go ahead early in the game through talisman Tebeho Mokoena.
“It was important at halftime we needed to correct some things. We had to have more ball. You cannot play without a ball or make mistakes, especially in the middle that lead to strong transitions where the vertical movements from Pirates can be very aggressive and difficult to control.
“I think we controlled it well but we didn't have the luck to score a second goal. I think then in the end we could have made even a better result, but it’s a fair, difficult victory. We deserved to win and to take the trophy, something that we defined as an objective at the beginning of the season,” he added.
Sundowns added a second goal with a late controversial, penalty that Iqraam Rayners converted.
“We always understood that only together, giving the best of each other, trying to come out from the mistakes together and doing try to do even better, would probably put us closer to winning.
We knew that the game would give different moments. We had to cope with them,” Cardoso added.