Themba Zwane ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Revenge not a word that exists in Mamelodi Sundowns vocabulary
Mokwena wants Mamelodi Sundowns to maintain their focus and for those who were involved in the disastrous end to the Afcon qualifying campaign to move on
Themba Zwane ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena has dismissed the suggestion that his team will be out to avenge Bafana Bafana’s defeat to Sudan when they take on Al-Hilal in the Caf Champions League.
Sundowns will play the Sudanese side at the same ground that Bafana Bafana lost 2-0 to the North African’s at, but their minds will be clear of negative motivations according to their mentor.
Downs not out for revenge
Mokwena wants his team to maintain their focus and for those who were involved in the disastrous end to the Afcon qualifying campaign to move on.
“The difficulty in trying to play in that perspective is you have a negative drive. You are motivated and inspired by things that have happened in the past and at times it is not the right sort of way to approach matches,” Mokwena told the media.
“Revenge is not a word that exists in our vocabulary as Mamelodi Sundowns. We are inspired by the goals, aspirations and targets we have set for ourselves. The unfortunate result for our national team has nothing to do with Mamelodi Sundowns although of course being from South Africa we are emotionally not in the right space.
“Our egos are slightly bruised and the happiness index within our country is affected. We therefore have an indirect responsibility to try and influence the atmosphere back home and to carry the hopes and dreams of our country and our football nation. But we are not driven by that. We are driven by trying to reach our targets, to make sure we get into the knockout stage with a very good momentum of winning games and winning away matches.”
Mamelodi Sundowns want a win on the road
Sundowns have already qualified for the quarterfinals and secured top spot in their group but hope to use the fixture as a dry run for the away legs of their knockout stage matches.
“This being our last away match we want to get into the knockout stage with the feeling of knowing how to win away football matches because experience tells us that it is very difficult to win away in the Champions League. It is very important to get into the knockout round with a very good run of form so that we have the right confidence going into that stage,” said Mokwena.
Mamelodi Sundowns face Al-Hilal in Sudan from 15:00 on Friday 2 April.
