Cardoso tells team to keep eyes on the ball

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has cautioned his troops against taking their foot off the pedal when they host Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup semifinal at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday (6pm).

Fresh from reaching the CAF Champions League semifinal after their 1-0 aggregate win over Esperance on Tuesday, Cardoso is worried his side may take their foot off the pedal against Amakhosi.

The Portuguese international said he would work on his side’s attitude, revealing that after winning big matches they tended to drop the ball, and he was demanding the same level of commitment against the Glamour Boys.

“I spoke about it in the locker room in Tunisia, not only to congratulate and praise them for the fact that they had beaten Esperance.

“I didn’t appreciate the way we reacted in terms of games after we had big victories,” Cardoso said on Thursday.

“I remember the first game we played against [Orlando] Pirates that we won at Loftus, then we didn’t succeed in the following match. When we played Chiefs and won, we also didn’t succeed in the following game.

“It means we have strong mental work ahead of us. It is not unique for these players to play such decisive games in terms of time.

“What I felt in that locker room was a strong will and commitment regarding the fixture. If we feed ourselves with victories, we are always at the limit and the top.” 

Masandawana and Chiefs have already met three times this season across all competitions, with the Brazilians winning all of them.

Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has implied there is more to life than being worried about the consequences of losing to Downs, insisting he was not under any pressure.

Another defeat for Amakhosi at Loftus would not only end their hopes of finally ending their decade-long trophy drought, but would also shine a spotlight on Nabi’s future.

Even so, the Tunisian coach emphasised that he was under no pressure.

Nabi suggested there were more important things that bothered him, such as seeing people struggle to make ends meet, than to obsess about winning against Sundowns at all costs.

“Which pressure? Is football pressure? The only pressure I have is from the fans. When I am outside I try to do my best to make them happy.

“Life here in SA is too expensive, so I need to make them happy to forget that life is expensive,” Nabi said.

“When you enjoy football, you forget all your problems.

“On the 25th people have to pay for their houses and rents, that’s pressure. If we don’t win this trophy, we have to continue working.”

Meanwhile, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro said the team were  banking on the confidence gained from the CAF Champions League to help with their  semifinal against Marumo Gallants at the Orlando Stadium on Sunday at 3pm.

 Pirates’ goalless draw against Algerian champions MC Alger in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday was enough for them to book their spot in the semifinals.

“We took this continental competition [the Champions League] like a proper test for us to see and to understand ourselves [as to] where we are as a group,” Riveiro said.

“I think we’ve played 14 games in that competition [Champions League] solid, conceding only four goals, and that says a lot about how competitive we are at that maximum level and in that difficult test.

“We try to use that confidence [gained from the  Champions League  for the rest of the competitions as well, and to understand that if we’re capable of being that good in that space,  we can be at the same level when we are playing domestically as well.”