Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has launched a stinging attack on match officials despite watching his side reclaim top spot in the Betway Premiership with a 4-1 hammering of Durban City FC on Saturday night.
Cardoso was left seething over what he perceived to be glaring refereeing errors, overshadowing Masandawana’s impressive victory at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.
He felt aggrieved that match official Cedric Muvhali turned down two penalty claims for his side, including a clumsy challenge on striker Iqraam Rayners inside the penalty area.
This frustration came even as the Chloorkop side returned to the top of the Betway Premiership standings. The 4-1 triumph took Sundowns to 26 points from 10 games, edging ahead of second-placed Orlando Pirates, who had briefly taken top spot following their Soweto Derby win over Kaizer Chiefs.
On the pitch, a double from Thabang Matuludi, complemented by strikes from Rayners and Antonio van Wyk, put Eric Tinkler’s Durban City to the sword. Yet, Cardoso opted to direct his attention to the poor whistle-blowing.
SUNDOWNS COACH SLAMS MATCH OFFICIALS
Reflecting on the contentious decisions in Phokeng, the Sundowns mentor made no attempt to hide his displeasure.
“Today is a day of a lot of emotions. I will make my best efforts to shut up and not speak too much. I think it’s another dark night for South Africa, but let people think whatever—there are people that will sleep in a bed for sure,” a visibly agitated Cardoso said on SuperSport TV.
“Honest people that work hard… even here today, you should go look at the penalties that were taken from Sundowns. I don’t want to speak too much, but whoever has a conscience today should, before going to sleep, pray a little bit and think a little bit.”
Shifting his attention to the action on the pitch, Cardoso pointed to his team’s squad depth and energy as key factors in breaking down a tired Durban City side, making full use of the visitors’ congested schedule to pick up maximum points.
CARDOSO ATTRIBUTES WIN TO FRESH LEGS AGAINST WEARY DURBAN CITY
“My team deserves everything, but the same respect for Durban City today. Our boys put in the intensity. We obviously profited from freshness as we had the chance to change a lot of players from the previous match,” Cardoso explained.
“Durban City came from a stretch of difficult matches played every three days. We knew that would put a strain on them, so it was important to bring intensity. The intensity made us lack fluidity at times, but we wanted to put quick stress on the opponent and finish the game stronger.”
The Sundowns coach also acknowledged the tough schedule facing counterpart Eric Tinkler, who has had to manage a busy fixture run alongside Durban City’s CAF Confederation Cup group stage campaign.
“A lot of respect for the work of Eric, who had no easy life in the last two weeks playing so many matches every three days. Now it is probably easier to understand why he spoke out when we were in the same situation. It is what it is,” Cardoso added.
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