Tlisane Motaung bracing himself for unbeatable Mamelodi Sundowns

The University of Pretoria host their crosstown rivals Downs on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup hoping to be the first side to defeat The Brazilians since December last year.

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Although his counterpart Rulani Mokwena claimed Sundowns aren’t at their best, Tlisane argues they don’t need to be to win matches.

''One thing about Sundowns, no matter how they play, they are able to get results somehow. They don't have to be at their best to win matches, maybe the issue could be - they want to score a lot of goals,'' said Motaung.

 Mokwena made those remarks after Sundowns narrowly beat Cape Town Spurs 1-0 on Tuesday night to remain the only side in the DStv Premiership yet to lose a match with 20 more to go.

But Motaung says Downs were still the dominant side, which is their strength.

''You look at the game, they were dominating the game to be honest. It is a ball playing team, they were rotating the ball very well. Yes, maybe the goals are not forthcoming but it is a team on the day that can cause damage,'' added Motaung.

AmaTuks are now the only team from the lower division in the Nedbank Cup, and winning against Sundowns would be a memorable milestone.

Motaung wants them to play without fear.

''We need to take motivation from that, if you look at the game played against Maritzburg, I thought for 60/70 minutes they gave their best. We need to look at that to say how best can we overcome Sundowns,'' he concluded.

 According to the AmaTuks coach, the players will be relishing taking on the reigning league champions know what being on the bigger stage did for the previous generation like midfielders Andile Jali and Mthokozisi Yende.

The duo joined Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs from the university team.