After Mamelodi Sundowns easily defeated NB La Masia in the Nedbank Cup, coach Rulani Mokwena was impressed with his South American players and referred to them as “the Spanish guitar”.
Gaston Sirino’s hat-trick helped Sundowns defeat La Masia 6-1 in their round-of-32 match on Tuesday night at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto.
For the first time this season, Mokwena fielded Chilean Marcelo Allende, Argentine Matías Esquivel, Junior Mendieta, and Uruguayan international Sirino in the starting line-up.
Brazilian Lucas Ribeiro Costa was left out of the team due to an adductor tightness injury.
The South Americans were lethal in the Sundowns attack in the first 45 minutes, and they were instrumental in scoring four goals going into half-time.
Allende dictated play in the middle of the park, while Mendieta was proving to be a problem for the La Masia defenders with his dangerous crosses.
With three goals, Sirino was named man-of-the-match, while Esquivel, a January signing, opened his Sundowns account with a world-class freekick on his first start for the Brazilians.
Good mentality and good attitude
Speaking to the media after the game, Mokwena said that despite the quality individual performances from his South American stars, they still have to play to the tune of the team and that there is no guarantee they will all start another game together.
“I call them the Spanish guitar, but the guitar still has to play to the tune of the team, and there are no individuals or groups within the team. They are part of the Sundowns group,” Mokwena told Sunday World.
“They were good; they were all good today [Tuesday] — good mentality and good attitude. It’s just a pity that we had to take Mendieta off at half-time because you could see they [the La Masia players] were even trying to provoke him a little bit.
“So, I don’t know [if they will ever start together again]. We will see.”
Sundowns will now shift their focus to the CAF Champions League, where they will travel to Mauritania to take on FC Nouadhibou on Saturday.
