Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi says that they cannot underestimate their opponents Polokwane City. The two sides will face off in the MTN8 quarterfinals at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville on Sunday, August 11.
Even though the Brazilians have been dominating the PSL for a considerable time, they have not particularly done well in this competition. Their rivals Orlando Pirates have been enjoying the upper hand in the competition.
Sundowns were defeated by the Buccaneers 3-1 via penalty kicks in the final of last year’s edition at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Fired up team
But Sundowns will be fired up this time around. Even though Mngqihti has admitted that he does not know what to expect from this season’s edition of the cup tournament.
He believes that off-season friendly matches results are not a true reflection of any team.
“I wouldn’t really want to say much because at this stage, it’s very difficult to know where teams stand. Friendly matches never really give you a true reflection of where a team is. Because sometimes that element of pressure is never really tested. And it’s always difficult to predict what it’s going to happen,” said Mngqithi said on the club’s website.
According to Mngqithi, playing against a team like Polokwane City will prove to be hard. He believes that there’ll be more competition this season. Their quarterfinal encounter against Rise and Shine will prove his point.
Lots of competition
“Coming to our game against Polokwane City, I think it’s going to be a tough one. It is a big deal for teams like Polokwane City to be in the Top 8. That says a lot about our league now. It says there is a lot of competition. A team that had just come from the NFD is now in the PSL and had a very good first round of the season.
“I also believe that their coach [Phuti Mohafe] is a very good young coach. We have played against him several times, so I know what he is capable of. It’s going to be interesting because this is a competition that has always been difficult for us,” he added.
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