Cardoso: ‘It’s never happened in my career’

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso pointed out a unique occurrence in the match against Orlando Pirates, marking the first time he has witnessed it in his coaching career.

Masandawana fell 2-1 to a resurgent Bucs at the iconic FNB Stadium in Soweto in an entertaining Betway Premiership on Sunday.

The result saw the Buccaneers close the gap at the top of the league table. Sundowns went into the game with an 18-point lead over their rivals.

However, Pirates still have four games in hand. The Soweto giants will be eyeing their outstanding four games, believing that a victory in each could narrow the gap to just three points.

WHAT HAPPENED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN CARDOSO’S CAREER

Masandawana had a poor start to the game and were caught in sixes and sevens early in the encounter. “You don’t need to tell the players you are unhappy about what happened. Also, they were not happy. So, no one is happy that you take [concede] two goals,” explained Cardoso.

He revealed this was the first time a team he coached conceded two goals so early in the game. Relebohile Mofokeng scored two goals within just one minute during the opening five minutes of the game.

“I think it has never happened to me in my sports life to take [concede] two goals in such a small period of time. But it can happen, unfortunately. And it happened today. Probably the worst moment to happen.”

The former Esperance coach said he did not “feel like a loser” despite the loss. “I feel that my team fought till the end for a result. The boys reacted in a very difficult environment and context, and emotionally, they were strong enough to keep themselves up on the match until the last minute.”

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