By Michael Madyira
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena has needed help explaining how they blew away an opportunity to claim the Nedbank Cup on Saturday.
After Themba Zwane gave them the lead, the Brazilians surrendered their slim advantage to allow Orlando Pirates to claw their way into the match to win 2-1 at Mbombela Stadium.
The script was written against Masandawana who had Lucas Ribeiro Costa missing a penalty early into the game.
“I still don’t know what happened,” Mokwena told SuperSport TV. “I honestly don’t know what happened here. Football can be very cruel, can’t it?
“We miss a penalty, they get a penalty, they score, they equalise but we dominate the game. I don’t know how we lost this match, honestly I don’t know.”
It was a difficult end to the season for Masandawana who, seven days earlier, lost 1-0 to Cape Town City in their last Premier Soccer League match and missed out on the Invincibles tag.
To make matters worse on Saturday, it was the second time this just-ended term for Sundowns to lose a Cup final to Orlando Pirates who also beat them in the MTN8 final.
“Every defeat leaves a deep scar, it doesn’t matter what type of occasion or what type of game it represents,” Mokwena said after the match.
“Every defeat, in my opinion, leaves a very deep scar. The pain is there for sure, it’s not about losing to Pirates, it’s not about losing the Cup final, it’s about losing the match that, still in my heart, I thought we played well enough to win it.”
While Mokwena is hurting, his Pirates counterpart Jose Riveiro celebrates ending the season with a double again.
Since arriving in South Africa, the Spaniard has been in four Cup finals, winning all of them, but admitted Masandawana “made us suffer.”
“We gave our all, the people were expecting from us. A comeback in a game against Sundowns is not for everyone, they are an excellent team. They made us suffer for 90 minutes.”
Patrick Maswanganyi launched the Buccaneers’ comeback from the penalty spot before Relebohile Mofokeng’s beautiful winner spiced up the occasion.
Pictured above: Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena.
Image source: X
