Tshwane Derby not as easy as it looked - Miguel Cardoso

Tshwane Derby not as easy as it looked - Miguel Cardoso

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso insists their 3-0 victory over SuperSport United in the Tshwane derby on Wednesday night was not a walk in the park.

Sundowns got the opener from midfielder Jayden Adams as early as the 11th minute, before winger Tashreeq Matthews added two more on either side of half-time to keep the gap at the top of the table to six points over second-placed Orlando Pirates. 

Despite the scoreline suggesting the Betway Premiership tie was one sided, the Portuguese mentor insisted they had to think quickly on their feet. 

"It looks like the result in the end may give us an idea that things were simple, but the match was not simple – it was important to score those goals in the moments we created, and indeed we had a good start to the game," said Cardoso.

"That allowed us to score the first goal and get that confidence which was important to manage the game, but during the first half, many things happened on the pitch – tactically, and we had to give extra in the game.

"First we were not expecting it, but we did predict after seeing the line-up the tactical structure of SuperSport would change, considering the last games.

"So that immediately forced us to change our game-plan before the match even started, but during the first half they made two strategical and structural changes that also forced us to change some things.

"That's the nice thing of the game that coaches can help the players, who give the answers in the pitch, and they gave their answers tonight by changing some pieces, which also produced some results, and due to that we could score again."

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