Miguel Cardoso admits Mamelodi Sundowns must improve despite maintaining top spot

Table-toppers Mamelodi Sundowns continued their climb back to the summit of South African football with a hard-fought 1-0 win over TS Galaxy in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday.

The victory allowed the Brazilians to maintain a three-point cushion at the top of the table ahead of rivals Orlando Pirates, though they have played one game more than the Soweto giants.

A second-half strike from Arthur Sales proved decisive, handing the champions all three points after they had to withstand heavy pressure from the Rockets, who failed to make the most of the chances that could have earned them a rare positive result away from home.

It was a game influenced heavily from the bench, as Cardoso’s substitutions—including the introduction of Sales—gave Sundowns the edge they were seeking as they continue working towards regaining their best form this season.

The Portuguese coach was full of praise for Galaxy’s quality but also detailed the tactical adjustments his side had to make to finally unlock the Rockets’ stubborn defense and secure the all-important win.

“It’s important to say that it was a very important victory against a team that is well organised,” Cardoso said after his side’s win.

“They have very difficult players to play against in terms of their speed in their transition; they have been creating problems for almost all the teams they play against.

“They are coached by someone that knows what they are doing. This is the third time I am playing against them, and they have been hard to beat.

“We made a lot of technical changes on the pitch to try and create spaces and break their defensive line, which sometimes was four or six players, but we managed to find a way to score.”

For much of this season, Cardoso and his Sundowns side have had to navigate a challenging spell—one he will hope is now behind them as they head into the international break.

With this round of fixtures concluding with the Carling Knockout semi-finals this weekend, which they will not be part of following their quarterfinal exit at the hands of Marumo Gallants, the break offers a welcome chance to regroup and come back sharper.

That defeat, along with several uncharacteristic losses and draws this season, has given their rivals renewed belief in challenging for what would be their first Premiership crown in eight seasons.

Such is the standard Sundowns have set for themselves that, even with just one loss this season and a three-point lead at the summit, they have faced criticism—and rightly so—for some of their below-par performances.

Cardoso himself has admitted he is not satisfied with their current position. Despite disruptions earlier in the campaign, he remains eager to see steady improvement as the season progresses.

“I am not happy with the points we have currently, but that is something that comes from the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, we lost points in matches that we should have won,” he added.

“But I also understood from the beginning of the season, and it’s something I do not want to go back to because people will say the coach always has excuses. Our start to the season was not normal due to the Club World Cup. No one is not happy at Mamelodi Sundowns.

“What we want is to be strong and have an attitude that no one can break. We need to accumulate points because we lost them where we shouldn’t have.”