THE SUCCESS of Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the quarterfinal of the Caf Champions League will mean a lot to the coach, Miguel Cardoso, if it is time for them to complete the work on the road after they have already done the right thing in the Betway Premiership.
Sundowns had their work cut out for them on Friday when they defeated Mali’s Stade Malien 3-0 in the first leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria.
Cardoso’s team is represented by a league match against Marumo Gallants today at 7.30 pm, in the same stadium.
He will say that before this game ends, Sundowns will head to Mali where they will complete the work in the second leg of the Champions League.
Although he was happy to win in a satisfactory way in the first leg, but Cardoso reminded his players about the importance of winning against the Gallants.
Sundowns will return to the top with ease if they win the Gallants match, since Orlando Pirates – who are in contention with them – dropped points by allowing Siwelele FC to be held at home on Saturday.
Pirates are at the top with 48 points after 21 games. Sundowns are next with 47 points after 20 games.
“As usual, we will carefully select the players who will be in a better position to start the league game with the Gallants,” said Cardoso.
“The Gallants game is the most important because it is the one in front of us. A good result will make the trip to Mali more enjoyable.
“Although we are nursing twins (the league and the Champions League), there is no title that we desire more than the other.
“This forces us to forget about complaining about the lack of support and try to put together a scheme that we believe is strong enough because it is important to go to Mali and we have done the right thing in the league.
“A win against the Gallants will give us the authority to know that we have done the right thing and leave the rest to other teams who are trying to take away the title that we have made ours in the past few seasons.”