Sundowns learnt a lot from Women’s Cup defeat - Jerry Tshabalala

The South African and African champions suffered a 3-0 defeat with all goals coming in the opening half, as they made history by becoming the first African club to participate in the four-team annual tournament. 

Sundowns were not much of a match for their American hosts in a clash that took place at the CPCK Stadium in Kansas City, but Tshabalala says there were some hard lessons.

"We gave them too much respect in the first half, we allowed them to come at us a lot, and at some point we played a little bit negative – played too much in our building zone," said Tshabalala.

"They were very clever in pressing us very high, and they set their traps very well, forcing us to play more with our goalkeeper, which is not our strength, so it was a bit difficult for us to come out of that zone.

"But I think it was a better second half from the team, and it's one of those games where one would say we'll build from it. It was a learning experience for us, and we've learnt the hard way."

Tshabalala was quick to note the lessons were not only for the players, but also for the technical bench.

"As a technical team, we also learned a lot in terms of the tactics that were applied by Kansas City Current today, it's something we should also consider going forward," he added.

"We need to tweak a little if we want to be on the same standards with other top teams like KC Current, and credit must also go to Coach Vlatko [Andonovski] for the manner in which he approached today's game.

"The captain normally plays as a defender, but today she played more central and she's one of the players that won the game for them [because] she was winning every second ball in the middle of the park. So, as a technical team, we have learnt a lot."

READ: Biyana: Women’s Cup a great test for Sundowns Ladies