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Cardoso set to approach second leg of Pirates clash with winning mentality
Photo: Veli Nhlapo
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says he is not banking on the crucial away goal his team scored in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final against Orlando Pirates.
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With all to play for in the second leg scheduled for Saturday, 23 August at Lucas Moripe Stadium, the Brazilians will head into the game with a slight advantage as pressure lies with the Soweto giants to score in the capital.
However, the Downs mentor insists his charges will approach the match with a mentality to win, noting that Pirates are more than capable of overturning the deficit and win the tie, despite being on the backfoot.
“A football team must always think about the next match first because every match has an impact on what’s going to happen after. So, obviously that scoring one goal away can make a difference, but I just can. It depends a lot on what’s going to happen in the second match,” said Cardoso.
“Of course, we know that if we prevent Pirates from scoring, we go through, but we know that Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns have the capacity to score goals in the second leg because it’s teams that usually score goals.
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“It’s quite difficult for the score to be goalless and if you think about not conceding, for sure you are going to concede. You need to play the next match to win because if you win you go through – that’s the biggest advantage we have, knowing that if we win the match at home, it’s enough because there’s no more matches to be played. For me that is the biggest advantage.
The Portuguese tactician continued: “Of course, it’s good that we scored, it’s a slight advantage that in a goalless draw it gives us an advantage. But a 1-1 or 2-2 is really against us.
The reigning Betway Premiership champions will return to action with a midweek trip to Seshego, where they are set to tackle Magesi FC on Wednesday (19h30), before refocusing on the blockbuster clash against Abdesalam Ouaddou’s men.