Sundowns coach convinced Stellies still strong despite exits

Ahead of the two sides facing off in the first leg of the cup tie at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday night, the Downs mentor said he believed Stellies were still going to prove to be a tough side even after captain Deano van Rooyen joined Orlando Pirates and striker Iqraam Rayners moved to Chloorkop.

Mngqithi went into detail to explain his viewpoint.

"They've grown in leaps and bounds as a team. One anticipated that they would do very well and one was proven right in that but at this stage, I think as a team they've really grown in leaps and bounds probably even in creating a nice pipeline for their team in terms of recruitment because when you see a player like Mojela [Lehlohonolo] in their team then you already know they anticipated that if they were to lose some of their key players, it will be important,” Mnqithi said.

“When they also brought in a player like Barns [Sanele], you know they are a team that understands itself and they always want to make sure that they are stronger in that space.

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Defensively they have not really lost much except the captain but they've got Jurgens [Kyle] who's also very good in that space and already is a player that we all know what he's capable of."

Mngqithi was one of the few coaches to predict Stellies, through their scouting network, would soon challenge for silverware.

He maintains they will likely continue being a force this season. 

"I think Stellenbosch has really done well in that regard because first as a team you need to understand yourselves and I think at Stellenbosch probably because they are also not changing coaches a lot, so they've got a very clear playing philosophy which is working for them."