Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed his disappointment with the club’s supporters following their goalless draw against Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.
Likely anticipating Al Ahly would sit back due to their poor record on SA soil and Sundowns’ attacking prowess, Cardoso’s troops struggled to assert themselves against the defending champions, who instead displayed attacking intentions.
Al Ahly’s winless streak against Sundowns extends to eight games since 2021. They haven’t tasted victory against PSL teams in SA in their last 17 games, a streak stretching back to 2001.
The Egyptian giants’ attacking intent was evident in their 12 shots in Pretoria, including three that tested Ronwen Williams. This is a stark contrast to Sundowns’ eight attempts, none of which required a save.
But it wasn’t Sundowns’ performance itself that irked Cardoso, despite his men failing to capitalise on their home advantage in the first-leg ahead of next Friday’s return match in Cairo. Instead, Cardoso’s unhappiness stemmed from the lacklustre attendance of the home crowd.
CARDOSO UNHAPPY WITH SUNDOWNS’ FAN TURNOUT FOR CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL
He was particularly unhappy with the support given the significance of the Champions League semi-final clash. In Cardoso’s view, the turnout didn’t match the importance of the occasion.
“I am very happy that our fans helped us, but it is so sad to see such a beautiful stadium almost empty when you have a semi-final of the Champions League,” said Cardoso. “We should have a full stadium, supporting us, giving us the extra energy, that two or three per cent pushes you to be in front.
“It is tough to play these types of games, you have the best players in Africa playing this match, and sometimes people ask me what the difference is between North African and Southern African teams. It is that when you play in Cairo, you have 90,000 fans cheering from the first to the last minute, giving the team energy despite what happens on the pitch.”
The Sundowns coach also expressed his disappointment with the broader SA football fanbase, implying that supporters of every club should rally behind the Tshwane giants, Orlando Pirates, and Stellenbosch FC as they fly the nation’s flag in CAF inter-club competitions.
“And today, although we felt the energy from our fans, we should have a full stadium, cheering, a full South Africa in the stadium, and that should happen even with matches for Stellenbosch and Orlando Pirates, and it didn’t,” he added.
“…I think the stands behind me [Sundowns bench] were quite okay, but the rest of the stadium unfortunately not at the level of this game, and that also could help us, the energy [from the supporters].
“To get over these kinds of teams [Al Ahly], you need everybody to play, the players, the coaches, the staff, everybody and the fans…
“It is important that in the next matches that we play at home, in the championship [Betway Premiership], as we have tough matches ahead, I hope the supporters will come in numbers and give us the energy we need.”
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