14th November 2022
Sundowns won the Cup at their first attempt with the 4-0 drubbing of Pirates. It was the first time clubs outside of Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs were involved in the Black Label Cup with AmaZulu and Downs joining the fray.
Pirates saw Chiefs off 6-5 on penalties in the semis, while the Brazilians cruised past AmaZulu 3-0 in the last four.
Erasmus, who rejoined Pirates from Sundowns in the off-season under a cloud and has been publicly critical of the Brazilians and his unhappy stint at Chloorkop, was on the touchline and appeared to engage in a war of words with his former coach Mokwena.
Mokwena reveals that the argument was over Pirates defender Tapelo Xoki's red card tackle on Haashim Domingo in the 21st minute.
"I'm very disappointed because the tackle was not something you want to see from an opponent," he said.
"Career-threatening situations like that shouldn’t be applauded, it was just a bit of a disappointment. I was disappointed at how he [Erasmus] spoke to me - I just felt I didn’t deserve that and especially from him.
"Maybe that’s why I feel in this moment bittersweet, because I know what the club [Sundowns] has done for him and what I have personally done for him. I cannot sit here and speak about some of the things but it's OK - I suppose that’s what life is about. We take it in on the chin and we move on."
The Downs mentor said there was not yet a prognosis on Domingo's injury.
"No diagnosis has been made on Haashim Domingo at the moment - to respond on that will just be mere speculation on my part.
"The medical department will be on top of it, the good thing is we have a couple of weeks now where we can get some rest. We will come back and start preparing for the second part of the season."