Mamelodi Sundowns have a mountain to climb at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Sunday against Pyramids FC, but coach Miguel Cardoso and his assistant, Steve Komphela, have faith in the team’s ability to get a positive result.
Walid El Karti scored a dramatic equaliser in the dying minutes of the first leg at Loftus in Pretoria on Saturday to cancel the opener by Sundowns’ talismanic attacker, Lucas Ribeiro, after 54 minutes as they settled for a 1-1 draw.
As they turned their attention to the North Africa trip this week, Cardoso admitted it would not be an easy game but they have what it takes to get something positive in Cairo.
“What we have in front of us is not easy, but we have the capacity and strength to go there and fight with them,” Cardoso said.
“It is going to be a difficult match, but I know that we can stand until the end. That’s what we are going to have to do and this is an opportunity to show character.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the first leg and we need to take responsibility because we allowed the goal to be scored. When you are 30 seconds to the end of the match, you need to be strong and run like an animal, but we didn’t do that.”
Cardoso said the tie was still wide open. “These things happen and what we are going to do is have a strong attitude.”
Komphela shared his sentiments.
“We are in the final of the Champions League and we know it is important not to concede a goal at home, but that has happened and you cannot change it,” he said.
“You look forward and go to Egypt to try to get goals. You also have to acknowledge the strength of the opponent and how good they are, but Sundowns are [an] equally good a team.
“Champions are born out of such tragedies, you just have to show resilience and mental strength because the minute you drown yourself in sorrow, you don’t rise.
“You must have seen some of their league matches, they showed that they have good players.
“But we are also a good and experienced team. We have been through rough terrains with players like Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena and Khuliso Mudau who play for the national team.
“We played Al Ahly and we were courageous. We have to go there and play our game.”
TimesLIVE
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