By Benjamin Nyirenda
Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday played to a goalless draw in the first leg of the MTN8 Semi-finals at the Orlando Stadium, and to Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi it was an entertaining game which only lacked goals.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Mngqithi said that his side played very well but he was disappointed that they couldn’t even record a short on target.
“As a game it was an entertaining game. Both teams played according to the plan and we held each other very well. The only disappointment from our side was that for the whole game we could not register a shot on goal. We tried to change things in the second half with the substitutions we made as we wanted to attack with more speed, hence we brought in Marcello Allende, Gastino Sirino and even Bongani Zulu as we wanted to attack with speed and I think that changed our game as we attacked more,” he said.
However, Mngqithi added, Sundowns didn’t have good crosses from Khuliso Mudau mainly in the first half which starved them supply to the box.
“But overall it was a good game and now we have to wait for the second leg. It’s better that they didn’t score in this game because that makes the return more difficult for both teams as we will now fight for a win and goals have to be scored in that game, ” Mngqithi said.
The coach also took a moment and thanked the Sundowns supporters who came to the Orlando Stadium in their numbers.
” It’s always good to see the Yellow Nation support the team in the way they do. The way they came at Orlando Stadium it didn’t feel like we were playing away and we urge them to continue supporting us in that way. It really encourages us to continue doing good for the team and for them as well, ” Mngqithi concluded.