The Brazilians are wary of the threat posed by the Western Cape side including their Afcon-winning Zambian midfielder
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena says they know what to expect when they meet Stellenbosch in Saturday’s Premier Soccer League match at Danie Craven Stadium as he points at their opponents’ danger men.
Despite beating Stellies 3-0 in the reverse fixture, before knocking the Western Cape outfit out of the Nedbank Cup 3-2 after extra time, Mokwena still feels their opponents are a big threat.
While mentioning players who could trouble Sundowns, Mokwena includes former TP Mazembe midfielder Nathan Sinkala who also had previous stints in Israel, France and Switzerland.
“The left-hand side with [Marc] van Heerden as a wing-back is a little bit more direct and allows them [Stellenbosch] to get box entries. Then there are the build-up schemes with the back three [starting with goalkeeper Lee] Langeveldt,” Mokwena told Sundowns’ media.
“Again you also have to control the influence of Nathan Sinkala as well as the speed and movement of [Ashley] Du Preez and [Dean] van Rooyen. So we know what to expect, we just played them recently. So we should be able to find the right solutions for the match.
“A very awkward shape their back three presents possibilities for it to be a reinforced block of five and that’s very difficult to contain. But let’s see what happens, it should be a very good game if we apply ourselves properly.
“The good thing about Stellenbosch is that they don’t park the bus. They don’t sit off the ball and have a defence. That’s the good thing about Stellenbosch. They play very open and it should be another entertaining game.
“The other good thing is they have clear principles of play, a clear way of orientating themselves with regards to certain patterns, particularly on the right-hand side where they are a lot more fluid with their movements.”
Sundowns will be facing a Stellenbosch side which has won its last two PSL games to end a period of struggle.
But the Brazilians would be buoyed by the fact that they are unbeaten in the league this season and go into this match fresh from dismissing Polokwane City 4-0 out of Nedbank Cup on Wednesday.
It was a match the Brazilians made some big changes, resting some key players and it is yet to be seen if they stick with those given the chance against Polokwane.
“We have tried to regenerate the group and rotate a bit and the good thing is the players who got the opportunity against Polokwane City didn’t let themselves down and didn’t let the team down,” said Mokwena.
“They did very well in representing the club in moving forward a step closer to the objectives. We are in a good space and we are confident that we are ready for Stellenbosch.”
Be the first to comment