Stade Malien head coach Mauril Njoya found humour after his side’s heavy defeat at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns in a CAF Champions League quarter-final first leg encounter on Friday night in Pretoria.
The Malian side suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to the Brazilians on Friday night at Loftus Versfeld Stadium. The hosts got their goals from Khuliso Mudau, Brayan León and Iqraam Rayners as they took firm control of the tie.
Despite a result that leaves his team with work to do in the reverse fixture in Bamako next week, the Cameroonian coach added dry wit to his post-match presser. Speaking to the media, Njoya was honest about the need for a thorough post-mortem before the return leg.
“I have to watch the game again and see what happened. After watching the game, we come back with a game plan,” Njoya said.
NJOYA: ‘I HAD TWO DREAMS’
In a lighter moment, he drifted away from tactics and shared his small “bucket list.”
“What I can say is just a joke: I had two dreams. The first one was that I wanted to fight to visit South Africa. The second one to go to heaven. So, I would say that I accomplished one,” he said through a translator.
Njoya, however, remains focused on the objective that brought him to South Africa ahead of the reverse fixture. “Of course, I wanted to go far into the competition and maybe win the competition,” he added, acknowledging the uphill battle now facing the Malian giants.
The focus now shifts to the home leg in Bamako, where the atmosphere at the Stade du 26 Mars is expected to be electric. “We’re going to make sure that our boys are going to play without pressure, we’re going to tell them what to do,” Njoya explained.
He believes his players have what it takes to overturn the deficit, even suggesting they could win 3-0 to level the aggregate score and potentially push the tie to a dramatic penalty shootout.
“I think I gave too many chances to Mamelodi Sundowns. It was not because of their experience or because they were stronger than us. Sometimes in football, these things happen.
“We believe the next match will be different. At home, we will try to win the game, even 3-0. If that happens, maybe it goes to penalties. I don’t know, but we must score many goals.”
SUNDOWNS SHIFT FOCUS TO DOMESTIC CAMPAIGN
Meanwhile, Masandawana turn their attention to their Betway Premiership match against Marumo Gallants before flying to Bamako for the Stade Malien reverse fixture. Sundowns and Orlando Pirates are currently in what seems to be a two-horse race, and they will need to win that match to stay on course while chasing a second star on the continent.
Gallants have a new coach, Jamil Benouahi, who will be looking to steer the team away from a precarious position. The Bloemfontein-based side is currently 14th with 18 points after 20 games. They will be buoyed by their recent 3-1 victory over Chippa United.
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