Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has insisted that his side always believed they would advance to the Caf Champions League final, despite facing an unceremonious exit from the competition with time running out in their clash against hosts Al Ahly on Friday.
With the first leg having ended goalless in South Africa, Al Ahly went ahead in the return fixture in the 24th minute on their home turf in Cairo through Taher Mohamed.
It was a lead they clung to for the rest of the contest until the 90th minute when an own goal from Yasser Ibrahim saw Sundowns equalise. Sundowns were able to hold out for the draw, which was enough to advance due to the away goals rule.
Though Sundowns went to the break a goal down, that did not discourage the Brazilians, explained Cardoso.
Cardoso on Sundowns’ tactical changes and team unity in victory
“We knew we only needed one goal, so we had to stay solid defensively and wait for our moment. Yes, we suffered from a mistake, but we kept working,”Cardoso told SABC Sport.
“In the second half, we made several changes to go on the attack. We sacrificed a bit of creativity for migration, but we believe in ourselves. We earned this win – we always believed that it was possible.”
Cardoso also revealed the confidence he had in his charges, against Al Ahly.
“If you look at the last nine games against Sundowns, they haven’t managed to win. They had to be cautious. It was always going to be a tight game – both teams had to be careful. One goal could’ve changed everything.”
Ultimately though, the belief of his side came from their unity as a team, said Cardoso.
“Trust – complete trust. Trust in the way we’ve shared this journey, trust in each other’s quality, trust in the match strategy we created, and trust that even after going down 1-0, we could still come back and score.
@Michael_Sherman
Sport
