Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has revealed some of the challenges they faced during the goalless draw against Young Africans in the CAF Champions League quarter-final first-leg.
Sundowns came to the game against Yanga as heavy favourites but their progression to the semi-finals of the tournament is on the balance, as they will need to win the second-leg outright to keep their dream of winning the CAF Champions League title alive.
Following the stalemate, Mokwena, speaking to the media in a post-match press conference, suggested that the conditions at Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, coupled with missing at least seven players who were with Bafana Bafana during the international break did not help matters.
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Sundowns players, goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, Aubrey Modiba, Thapelo Morena, Teboho Mokoena, Terrence Mashego, Grant Kekana and Themba Zwane only joined their club teammates on Thursday in Tanzania, after they were involved in the FIFA Series with Bafana Bafana in Algeria.
"It was tough, I said it before in the pre-match press conference and it played out exactly the way we have spoken about, good team, well coached," Mokwena told journalists in a CAF-organized post-match press conference.
"We were alright, we can be better but under the conditions, the pitch, the humidity, also not having all our players to prepare for the game. But alright, it is what it is. We will see how best we can prepare for the second-leg," he said.
The Brazilians were also without Zwane, who scored a brace for Bafana against Algeria, due to suspension and the 37-year-old coach admitted that they missed him a bit.
"Ja, he's the captain of the team, he's an important part of our team and of course we missed him a little bit (but) everyone tried. I'm happy with the commitment of everybody, especially in the second-half. It's not always easy coming from a FIFA break but okay let's see how it goes (in the second-leg)," he went on, before showing confidence in his charges to progress to the semi-finals.
"Of course, I think we'll see Sundowns in the next round, I'm very confident about it in fact," he added.
The second-leg is scheduled for Friday evening at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
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