Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has reacted to the surprising loss suffered by title rivals Orlando Pirates, who have been strongly challenging Masandawana for the Betway Premiership crown.
The Buccaneers went down 1-0 to Sekhukhune United at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night, with the defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns winning 3-0 over Richards Bay FC in Pretoria.
Pirates’ defeat dealt a significant blow to their league contention hopes, hindering them in pushing Masandawana all the way.
In the league standings, The Sea Robbers currently occupy second place with 46 points from 21 matches, while the Tshwane giants sit atop the table with 58 points after 23 games.
Cardoso admitted that Pirates’ defeat provided his side with an advantage in the race to finish the season on top of the table, but he stressed the importance of continuing to “keep going” to solidify their position at the summit.
CARDOSO SAYS SUNDOWNS NEED TO KEEP GOING, WINNING THEIR MATCHES
“Obviously, we depend on ourselves but there are still five games to play and things are not done because our opponents will not give up,” said Cardoso.
“We need to collect points, points and points. Obviously, if we enlarge the advantage, it gives us comfort, but that doesn’t take anything from the way we should [fight]. We still have five tough matches to play and the next one is away in Cape Town against Cape Town City FC. That’s another team fighting and has its own objectives.
“So, we should respect ourselves, respect the opponents, respect the competition and not sleep on what we’ve done. If you do so, you’ll have problems.
“So, we’ve played one game tonight [Wednesday], and now we have five left. If we got extra advantage [with Pirates loss], fantastic but we need to keep on going and win our matches.
“I’ll not let them [players] rest. I [encouraged] them to have a strong start. And we will continue with that because this championship is tough.”
RELATED STORY: Sundowns widen gap on top after Richards Bay FC win