Miguel Cardoso Slams Mamelodi Sundowns Stars After Golden Arrows Defeat and Explains Why They Lost

• Mamelodi Sundowns fell to a 1-0 defeat against Golden Arrows in the MTN8 semi-final first leg at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday
• Head coach Miguel Cardoso publicly criticised his players for losing focus after a strong opening 20 minutes of the match
• The Portuguese tactician warned that Sundowns must learn to handle defensive errors or risk being punished again in the second leg

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso did not hold back after his side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Golden Arrows in the first leg of their MTN8 semi-final at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday, warning that the team must urgently address costly defensive lapses.

Sede Junior Dion's 38th-minute strike proved to be the only goal of the match, handing Abafana Bes'thende a slender advantage heading into the second leg next week.

Cardoso pinpoints the turning point

The Portuguese coach acknowledged that Sundowns started the match well, but identified a specific moment that disrupted the team's momentum. Speaking to SuperSport TV after the final whistle, Cardoso pointed to Golden Arrows' goalkeeper substitution early in the game as the incident that threw his side off course.

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"I think we had a good start for the first 20 minutes until the substitution of the goalkeeper from Golden Arrows," he said. "That took us a little bit out of the rhythm of the game. We were okay for seven minutes to make a substitution, and then we fell asleep."

Cardoso was particularly pointed in his assessment of the period leading up to the goal, stating that the team "fell asleep until halftime, completely asleep."

Cardoso draws comparison to draw vs Chiefs

The Sundowns coach also drew a direct parallel between Sunday's concession and a similar defensive error made in a previous fixture against Kaizer Chiefs, suggesting the same pattern of poor positioning after losing possession had resurfaced.

"Out of the mistakes, similar to the one we did in the match against Chiefs where we see we lose the ball, we're not positioned for the defence, and we still make a mistake by jumping a player in the front, we suffer a goal," Cardoso said.

He stressed that the squad must grow from these experiences, adding: "It's time to learn how to deal with these situations, otherwise you cannot continue to dominate the game and suffer from a simple action."

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Despite the result, Cardoso stopped short of conceding the tie, with the second leg still to come. Sundowns will need to overturn the deficit on the road if they are to advance to the MTN8 final.

Source: Briefly News