TS Galaxy head coach Sead Ramovic believes he has been “disrespected” by Mamelodi Sundowns mentor Rulani Mokwena every time they beat them.
This comes after Mokwena’s remarks when the Rockets defeated Bafana Ba Style 5-4 on penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra time in the Carling Black Label Knockout Cup round of 16 clash on October 18, 2023.
Coach Mokwena had complained that he lost the match because he did not have seven of his best players who were called up for Bafana Bafana’s friendly matches against Eswatini and Ivory Coast.
On the day, Mokwena had to face the Mpumalanga-based outfit without the services of Ronwen Williams, Mothobi Mvala, Aubrey Modiba, Khuliso Mudau, Teboho Mokoena, Themba Zwane, and Grant Kekana.
Ramovic says he feels like Mokwena disrespected him and his players let alone his staff by making up excuses despite Sundowns having a bunch of quality players.
The TS Galaxy coach was speaking during the Carling Knockout Cup press conference on Thursday afternoon. Ramovic’s charges will face AmaZulu in the semi-finals of the Carling Knockout Cup on Sunday, 3 December 2023.
SEAD RAMOVIC HITS BACK AT RULANI MOKWENA
What triggered Ramovic to speak about being disrespected by Mokwena was when he was asked how he felt about his side’s performances from their previous games.
“We want to have a great good goal and we are happy about the performance, but we are not happy with the results. My experience is, if we continue to improve and get more consistency in our games that will get points to reach our goals,” said Ramovic.
“If you watched our games, we were very unlucky against Royal AM. We had 15 opportunities in front of the goal and did not score.
“Many other teams have this kind of problem in front of the goal. If you see against SuperSport, our mistakes we to concede a goal and not so good of us. If you watch Richards Bay, very very unlucky and poor decisions from the referees.
“But all in all, we don’t want to find other excuses like other coaches. For example, when we won against Sundowns, what were the excuses from the opponents? He didn’t play with his best seven players, right?
“So, how’s this the respect for the players that play? You have the player they bought with R60 million [Marcelo Allende], there’s the guy from Stellenbosch [Junior Medienta] whom they bought for R12 million. You also have Bongani Zungu and a lot of other national team players.”
‘A GOOD COACH WILL NOT FIND EXCUSES’
Ramovic went on to say that a very strong good will not find excuses, but credit the opponent for a job well done.
“And you come up with an excuse to disrespect my staff, players, and myself. I think a good and very strong coach will not find an excuse. He will say fantastic job from Galaxy. They played a fantastic game plan and they beat us and we show respect,” he added.
“I think he also disrespected his own team because if he state they cannot win with the type of the players they have than other teams. I think the team that played against us can win the league. Top players and unbelievable.”
Ramovic continued: “So, it means that we are also doing a fantastic job. I don’t have excuses that we sold several of our key players. We are very happy to win against Sundowns.
“I promise we will win again when we play against them. It’s time that they also praise us for a good game and a good win.”
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