Following a heartbreaking night at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium for Mamelodi Sundowns, coach Rulani Mokwena said despite being disappointed, he is proud of himself and his team.
Sundowns missed out on the Caf Champions League final for the second consecutive season after losing 1-0 (2-0 aggregate) against Tunisian giants Esperance. This was during their semi-final second leg.
Raed Bouchniba scored the only goal of the match in the 57th minute. He sealed the win for Esperance after beating Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams at close range.
Esperance will now face Percy Tau’s Al Ahly in the final next month, who cruised past TP Mazembe with a 3-0 win. This was in the other semi-final second leg also on Friday.
Visibly disheartened, but proud of team
A visibly disheartened Mokwena spoke to the media after the match. He said that he is proud of himself and his entire team for reaching the stage of the competition. This despite being clouded by disappointment, he said.
“This moment in time, I am gutted. But probably less gutted than the players that I saw in the changeroom. They are very low, and rightfully so,” Mokwena said.
“They [the players] should feel the sadness because we have not only let ourselves down, but the club and the supporters.
Still qualifying for the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup
“I look at my team holistically. We had a continental final [African Football League], a semi-final of three of the four competitions we have to play. And that, for me, is big. When last did we have that as Sundowns?
“But with that said, one thing I can tell you is that I am proud of this group, my technical team. And I am proud of myself for the amount of work that we put in and try to do to serve this club. It’s not easy, but we try to do it as best as we possibly can.”
Regardless of the result, Sundowns will find something to console themselves with. They secured a qualification for the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup. They join Al Ahly, TP Mazembe and Esperance.
