Mamelodi Sundowns defender Divine Lunga says they are not under pressure after dropping points against Kaizer Chiefs during Wednesday’s Betway Premiership match, as they now head into their penultimate league fixture against Siwelele FC.
In a PSL title race slip-up, the Brazilians drew 1-1 with Amakhosi at Loftus Versfeld, dropping two crucial points. While Sundowns are three points clear at the top of the table, Wednesday’s result was an advantage to their closest PSL title challengers, Orlando Pirates, who have played a game less and have a superior goal difference.
But Masandawana resume their campaign by hosting Siwelele at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday [17:30 CAT]. It is a must-win game for the Brazilians, who will be playing their third straight home game.
They will be up against Siwelele, who are unbeaten in their last five league outings, in a run of one win and four draws. Interestingly, that victory came against Chiefs last week.
Miguel Cardoso’s men will be in a stern test to see if they can rise from the Amakhosi setback and cement their lead going into the last PSL game of the season.
SUNDOWNS’ MENTALITY AFTER THE CHIEFS SETBACK
“The boys are in a good mood, even though we didn’t pick up the result we wanted against Kaizer Chiefs. But as I said, the boys are in a good mood to step into this game that we are approaching against Siwelele,” Lunga said.
“We are going to do our best. We want to collect the maximum number of points because the race is still wide open. We aren’t putting too much pressure on ourselves; we’re just taking it one game at a time.
“That’s what we always do as Sundowns, we don’t like to put ourselves under pressure. We have to focus on winning our games. One game at a time, and that’s a good thing for us. We have been doing it for so long, and we can’t change it now.”
FOCUS ON CHIEFS SLAYERS SIWELE
On Wednesday, Sundowns faced a Chiefs side that was reeling, fresh from a 2-0 defeat by Siwelele FC. But the Soweto giants picked themselves and almost stole victory against the Tshwane giants, who came from behind to draw level 1-1.
Now facing a team that stunned Chiefs, Sundowns have managed three draws and two wins in their last five league games. Making Siwelele a side that poses a big danger to Masandawana is that the Bloemfontein-based side beat Amakhosi, who were on a seven-game unbeaten streak.
“We were a bit disappointed because we wanted maximum points [against Chiefs]even though it wasn’t an easy game. It was a tough game, a big game, and everyone was expecting that we were going to collect maximum points,” Lunga added
“But the game was always giving us different dynamics. The boys were sad after the game, but we will try to gel quickly because we are playing our games week in, week out.
“We have to gel and bring ourselves together so that we can focus on the upcoming game against Siwelele. The boys are good, and we have to focus on this coming game. That other one is water under the bridge, so we have to focus on the new one.”
SUNDOWNS’ APPROACH AND EXPECTATIONS AGAINST SIWELELE
“We know that in the last few games, Siwelele have been doing well. So, we don’t expect an easy game, and the league is about to end. I know everyone wants to end their season in a good way,” Lunga went on
“We always give every team some respect. There is no smaller team, we always give them huge respect, and Siwelele have been doing well in the last few games.
“So, we are not expecting an easy game or a walkover. It’s going to be a difficult one, they are going to fight, so even ourselves we are ready. We are going to pull up our A game to try and collect three points.”
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