Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso insisted on a strong start from his side in Sunday’s MTN quarterfinal, and a goal inside the opening 10 minutes set them on their way to a comfortable 4-0 win over Richards Bay.
Iqraam Rayners’ early strike allowed the team to coast through the tie and book a semifinal meeting with Orlando Pirates later this month.
“We wanted to start strong in the match, considering that we were playing at home in front of our supporters and considering that we knew that the energy would not be the same throughout the match,” the coach explained after the opening game of the season for the league champions.
“So starting strong would be important, scoring for us would be important, and we wanted to get into a rhythm that would help us throughout the game.”
Cardoso said it was also important to get a third goal in the second half to allow him to take off players for a rest and bring on others. It was Rayners again who did that with a superb 54th-minute strike.
“We eventually could manage the condition of the players and deal with the fatigue that probably would (impact) the players in a different way. So I think we achieved what we wanted in the end; it was a good performance tactically and technically.
“I think on a cold night, it was also a beautiful game for people that were watching,” he added.
Sundowns had only had two weeks’ preparation before the game because they went off on belated holidays after participating in the Club World Cup.
“It was a big challenge to understand how we would prioritise all the rest, then active recovery, and a return to preparation, and we decided to give the boys three weeks’ full rest,” Cardoso explained.
“We already had the individual (training) plans that we devised, and the players worked to those plans so that the (fitness) losses would not be big. Usually, it is in the first week (of rest) when you get the biggest losses in the conditioning, levels of strength, and the levels of endurance.
"So we knew that the drop would not be big, but it was our concern, obviously, not to introduce big changes, so that the team could come back quickly and resume what we were doing before.”
Cardoso said in their fortnight of preparation, they concentrated only on the conditioning of the players.
“The players must be congratulated because during three weeks they didn’t lose much fitness and all of them came back in good condition and with the right weight.
“We think that in two/three matches more, the team will be at the point where we should be.
“So that's why it was important to start (against Richards Bay) very strong, so that we could avoid extra time that they could be penalising for us, of course. So the message was clear, understood by the players, Start strong, try to finish off the game, so that we can manage the replacements.
"I even told them, "prepare, because today we're going to make substitutions earlier, so that we avoid injuries, so that we avoid losing the pace.”