E "piano and shoeshine" style of football seems to be back at Mamelodi Sundowns, with the team making an impressive unbeaten start to the campaign as they seek to rebuild after a dismal 10th-place finish last year.
Four victories and a pair of draws, one of them desperately unlucky at Ajax Cape Town, have brought hope to fans that "the Brazilians" are once again living up to their nickname.
The other stalemate came in a 1-1 draw at home to Platinum Stars, the same side they will face again in Moruleng in the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout competition on Saturday night.
This is perhaps the game that will tell us whether the Tshwane side have overcome their troubles of the past few seasons.
They are up against a very good team, runners-up in the league last season and MTN8 winners at the start of this campaign. Dikwena may not have many household names, but they play excellently as a collective and have great experience right through the spine of the team.
Sundowns just cannot beat them. Their last success over the North West side came almost exactly three years and seven meetings ago.
Last season Stars won twice at Loftus Stadium, once in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals, and also held Sundowns to a draw in their home league match.
Brazilians striker Katlego Mashego spoke earlier this week of Stars having no special hold over his side, but when even your coach, Pitso Mosimane, is claiming they are a hoodoo side, that comment sounds like bravado. "I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about Platinum Stars being the hoodoo team for us, but that doesn’t bother us at all because the Sundowns team that will be playing is made up of totally different players and would not have experienced that hoodoo," Mashego told reporters, ignoring the 1-1 draw earlier this season.
"You can never rely on past results against any team. During our training sessions, we have been training to win the next match and nothing has been more important for us, and that’s why I feel we are well prepared for whatever they might bring our way."
Mashego obviously did not get the memo; here is what Mosimane had to say after watching Stars come from behind to secure a point in their league meeting in August. "We played against a very good team. They are our hoodoo team ... they always give us problems and they never die," he told reporters.
"We score first, they always come back. We played them here (Loftus Stadium) in the Nedbank Cup and they came back.
"Today we scored and they came back," Mosimane said.
But on the plus side, Sundowns have arguably not been in such a good position perhaps since they won their last trophy, the Nedbank Cup, in 2008, a wait for silverware that is far too long considering the tens of millions of rand that owner Patrice Motsepe has invested in the club.
They signed 16 new players in the past transfer window, with barely a defender in sight.
The addition of exciting attacking talents such as Khama Billiat, Dove Wome, Mukuka Mulenga and Bongani Zungu promises a more expansive game, while goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene and forward Cuthbert Malajila bring experience and international quality.
They have probably yet to play their best this season, but the 4-0 hammering of Bloemfontein Celtic in the first round of the Telkom Knockout last time out suggests they are getting close.
If the Brazilians can sail over Saturdaiy’s hurdle at Platinum Stars, it could give them the belief that they are on the verge of something special.
Source: bdlive.co.za
Tags: psl,sundowns,platinum stars Kennedy mweene
