Mamelodi Sundowns FC fans support their team against Kaizer Chiefs FC during their first match of the season at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi was satisfied that his team kept pace with table-toppers Orlando Pirates with their Betway Premiership win over Polokwane City at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Image: Oupa Mokoena/Indpendent Media
It may not have quite been the scoreline that Manqoba Mngqithi felt his Mamelodi Sundowns side deserved, but their 2-0 victory over Polokwane City in their Betway Premiership clash on Wednesday was still an important one.
Sundowns came into the game in second place on the log and six points behind Orlando Pirates.
The win meant Sundowns who are looking to win their eighth league title in a row, are still nipping at the heals of the Soweto Giants who have won seven from seven to begin their campaign.
Against Polokwane at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Sundowns had double the number of shots at goal as they reeled off 12 attempts. They also had the vast majority of possession with 72%. Just for good measure, Sundowns also delivered 669 passes to the 253 of the visitors.
Statistically it was complete domination of their opponents by Sundowns.
“I think we started the game well. We wanted better mobility, better speed of play. And I think that's what we caught in the early stages of the game, to try and see whether we can create any chances,” said Mngqithi.
“But as the half progressed, we started getting comfortable after scoring the goal. We started seeing more midfielders coming short in front of the opposition, which killed our potency in terms of being able to cause problems in between the lines and invite the next line.
“And that made our latter stages of the first half not as dangerous as they could have been. I think we started the second half quite well. Probably the best start of the second half this season, in my opinion.”
“We wanted a result in this game, and we got the results.”