Mngqithi: Sundowns were ‘nowhere’ in shocking loss to Polokwane City

After the unexpected loss in the Betway Premiership on Sunday, Sundowns’ coach Mngqithi expressed disappointment over his team’s attacking struggles.

Sundowns were outplayed by Polokwane, especially in the first half.

This was also Polokwane’s first win against Sundowns since January 2018, with their captain Bulelani Nikani scoring the only goal in the 82nd minute from a Cole Alexander free-kick.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi (left) isn’t a happy man after his team lost to Polokwane City on Sunday.

“The first half was horrible,” Mngqithi told SuperSport TV after the match.“Let’s be honest, in the first half we were just nowhere. In the final third, we couldn’t make any combinations. We got into the final third a few times, but we needed better decisions from Tash [Tashreeq Matthews] and Iqraam [Rayners]. When you don’t turn those moments into chances, it’s similar to what happened midweek.”

Mngqithi said they didn’t underestimate their opponents and praised Polokwane for their effort during the game.

“On the day, it just didn’t go our way, and we have to congratulate the opponents. They fought hard and were strong, and we knew they were good at set-pieces, which is why we included strong aerial players to deal with that,” Mngqithi added.

“But we got caught in a game where nothing was working for us. We had almost all our best players on the day, but sadly the result didn’t go our way.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We never took it for granted because we know they can be a tough team for us, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t our day.”

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