Mamelodi Sundowns’ sneaky winning run under threat against Esperance in CAF Champions League semi-final

Mamelodi Sundowns’ sneaky winning run under threat against Esperance in CAF Champions League semi-final

Comment by Herman Gibbs

Mamelodi Sundowns’ vulnerability will again be put to the test tomorrow night when they face four-time Champions League winners Esperance in Tunisia.

In light of Sundowns’ iffy form over the last while, the Tunisian heavyweights are fairly confident of winning the CAF Champions League semi-final, first-leg clash in Tunis (9pm kick-off, SA time).

Esperance’s confidence is justified because irrespective of who Sundowns have played of late, they have pulled off sneaky wins, even when going up against a lowly second-tier side.

After several face-saving wins across several competitions such as the DStv Premiership, the Nedbank Cup and the Champions League, coach Rulani Mokwena has been taking massive strain.

The media have regularly grilled him following a host of insipid performances.

To add insult to injury, he has battled to cope with the way officials have handled Sundowns’ matches, even though his team enjoyed huge benefits from incorrect decisions on occasion.

The penalty against Cape Town Spurs springs to mind because TV replays showed it was incorrectly awarded. Nevertheless, it proved to be the match-winning goal.

Mokwena’s dilemma in the wake of his team surviving a string of major scares, combined with contentious match officiating, has made him a nervous wreck.

He said as much after Monday’s draw against lowly Moroka Swallows, adding that he and his players had reason to be grumpy and tired.

Mokwena was hopping mad afterwards because Sundowns were denied victory by a late Swallows equaliser. The referee correctly awarded Swallows a goal even after the assistant referee had flagged the Swallows player ‘offside’.

Even after it was explained to Mokwena that the goal was correctly awarded, he arrogantly declared: “I don’t need an explanation. I study the laws of the game. I don’t have my (coaching) licences for fun.”

Mokwena would have been rudely surprised on Wednesday when they arrived in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

There, the local media had laid bare the perceived weaknesses of the South Africans. Those who have watched Sundowns games of late will agree it is remarkably accurate.

Top of their list of weaknesses is the Sundowns defence’s inability to deal with set pieces and goalmouth crosses.

This is one area where they often concede goals because they misread the game and are tardy in dealing with the aerial threat.

The Tunisians have high praise for striker Peter Shalulile, but they have identified why he has has not been scoring goals of late for Masandawana.

Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams remains one of Africa’s finest goalkeepers, but the Tunisians have noticed that he is susceptible to shots aimed at the far post.

Sundowns, they say, are vulnerable when opponents counter-attack, because the fullbacks are often out of position.

However, these same fullbacks are dangerous when they set off on attacking sorties out wide on the flanks.

Mokwena and his technical staff will not dispute these findings. On the other hand, the local media had nothing to say about their champion side because they had been training behind closed doors all week.

This saga will remind fans of what Chippa United official Morgan Mammila said earlier this season when he was preparing his team to face Sundowns.

He said: “Sundowns is the simplest team to play against, very simple. Even a DStv Diski Challenge player will tell you how Sundowns play. Very easy team to play against.”

All will be revealed in Tunisia tomorrow night …