Cape Town - Reporters at Saturday's post-match press conference were gobsmacked when Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena declined to explain his on-field comments straight after his team's 1-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium.
Mokwena bluntly said "I didn't like the match; it was too open", when asked about his thoughts on the match.
He declined to explain his reasons and said he first wanted to discuss his thoughts with the players.
It has now become Mokwena's trademark that at the start of his post-match interviews, regardless of what the question is, he starts off by saying congratulations to the club, players, supporters, board, technical staff, the list goes on ...
On Saturday, it was more of the same. After their recent victory against SuperSport United, Mokwena repeated this congratulatory refrain twice in the space of a few minutes in response to questions about his thoughts on the match.
One can understand why Mokwena didn't enjoy the game against Chiefs because Sundowns did not produce an emphatic performance. Last week, Mokwena made similar comments after his side's slender 1-0 win over cross-town rivals Matsatsantsa.
Mokwena struggled to explain how his team coped in that match, but he admitted they struggled and were made to fight hard. This time, however, Mokwena went through the motions of the congratulations refrain when asked for his thoughts on the match.
It is worthwhile noting that in both matches, Sundowns enjoyed 67% possession, but came away with slim victories. After both matches, opposition coaches expressed similar comments despite ending on the losing side.
Gavin Hunt said he thought SuperSport were the better team and created more scoring chances. He added that Sundowns scored a lucky goal and no one took Hunt to task for these comments as many believed they were accurate.
Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane insisted his team should’ve scored “four to five goals” against the log leaders, making him the second coach in a week to believe they could have defeated Sundowns.
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Zwane also made the point that on many occasions Sundowns enjoyed good luck, although he added they are a good team.
A Cape Town sports psychologist said Mokwena's tactic of repeating the lines of congratulations was a way to avoid answers to the questions about his team's average performances. Hence, he wasn't happy with Sundowns' performances and that's the reason why he didn't enjoy the match.
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After Sundowns opened a 17-point gap at the top of the Premiership standings, there is no reason to question the team's performances, which have reached an all-time high with a record-breaking 12-match winning streak.
There is a train of thought that this Sundowns team is so good they could win games, with or without coaches. Man for man they have far and away the best players in the league.
IOL Sport