Africa-Press – South-Africa. In a bid to take pressure off himself and players at this crucial stage of the campaign, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is pushing the narrative that there is still a long way to go in the race for the league championship.
On an important night in the race for the title, Orlando Pirates dropped a valuable three points in a 1-0 defeat to Sekhukhune United at Orlando Stadium and Sundowns brushed aside Richards Bay 3-0 at Loftus on Wednesday night.
With their 19th win after 23 games, Sundowns opened a massive 12-point gap at the top of the Betway Premiership standings but Cardoso is expecting thrills and spills in the coming weeks of the run-in.
With Pirates losing to Sekhukhune and Sundowns beating Richards Bay, the Brazilians have a significant advantage with five rounds matches remaining in their campaign.
Pirates, who have a massive Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday, are still in the hunt for the title because they have two games in hand.
This defeat came with a huge cost for Pirates as they lost key influential Nkosinathi Sibisi to a red card and he is going to serve his suspension against Chiefs.
“We have to depend on ourselves, there are still five games to play and it is not done because our opponents will not give up,” said Cardoso when asked about the implications of Pirates’ defeat to Sekhukhune.
“We need to continue getting more points. Obviously, if we increase our advantage it gives us more comfort, but we still have five tough matches to play.”
Sundowns, who are on course for a record-extending eight successive league championship titles, travel to struggling Cape Town City on Saturday where they will be looking for another win to bring them closer to the finishing line.
“The next one is here already against Cape Town City away from home. It is a team that is fighting [at the bottom half of the table] and we must respect ourselves, the opposition and the competition.
“We cannot sleep on the job because if you do that you will have serious problems. We played one more game against Richards Bay and we have five to go. If we get the extra advantage against Cape Town City it will be fantastic. We must keep on going and trying to win our matches.”
After the trip to Cape Town City this weekend, Sundowns have three matches in quick succession against Chippa United, Stellenbosch and Magesi before the first leg of the Champions League final on May 24.
“I will not give rest to our players. In this match against Richards Bay I provoked them to make a strong start. We will continue to push ourselves because this championship is tough.
“There is a long way to go and let’s see how we go from here. In the next three weeks we have the five remaining games and we know it is going to be very tough.
“But we are motivated, we are happy and we are aware of the responsibility we carry on our shoulders. We know the level of our opponents and we respect them.
“To respect our opponents is to do our job. Keep training and keep working hard until the end. It is only through that attitude we can win the championship but there is still a long way to go.”
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