Rulani Mokwena Believes That Mamelodi Sundowns Players Deserve More Credit!

Rulani Mokwena Believes That Mamelodi Sundowns Players Deserve More Credit! The Brazilians got the better of The Team of Choice last night.

Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Maritzburg United 1-0 in the DSTV Premiership yesterday. Co-coach Rulani Mokwena lauded the displays of his side in the current campaign.

Peter Shalulile scored the only goal of the game in the second half. This was after a sublime pass by winger Neo Maema.

This means that The Brazilians have won seven of their opening eight fixtures. They are also yet to concede a league goal up to this point in the league.

“Having to arrive and have the right sort of mental focus which we did have.” Mokwena told SuperSport TV after the match.

“The desire was there, the commitment was there. Not as intensive in the first half but a little bit more in the second half.

“We won more of our duels. Our line was a lot higher.

“Because of that our midfield line came a bit closer to the opposition box and because of that we could put a little bit more tension in and around the box through our high press and counter press.

“Huge compliments to these group of players for what they have done. Not just today but from the beginning of the season until now.

“But of course it’s a long, long season. We still have to keep our feet firmly on the ground and continue to look to improve.

“We struggled a bit in the first half. Not really with their structure.

“Of course, they had a back four. We anticipated a back three with five in defence.

“But Nazeer Allie was playing as a left-back and Nazeer is predominantly a right footer. And then we had Neo Maema and when you have Neo you have possibilities of cutting inside.

“When you have possibilities of cutting inside it then means that you move a little bit in the direction that allows them time to reinforce and get numbers behind the ball.

“So we had to tweak it a bit and have two left footers on the left and two right footers on the right so that our possibilities to find penetration without wasting a bit of time. We were wasting time because we had opposite sided wingers we could not really arrive in the final third or in situations around the box to create situations.

“Then we changed at half-time. We had Neo predominantly on the left and that’s where the goal came from.

“We saw in the first half how high their line was and of course if it’s not the diagonal dodge then it’s a straight dodge and maybe the diagonal dodge and we got it and compliments to the players.

“It was a top pass and a top finish.” The coach added.

The Brazilians are top of the table at this early stage. Rulani Mokwena Believes That Mamelodi Sundowns Players Deserve More Credit!