Mamelodi Sundowns coach Mngqithi believes ‘midweek rest for AS Maniema Union not an advantage ahead of Champions League second leg
While the DR Congo side has been out of action since the first leg draw, Masandawana faced Golden Arrows in a PSL match.
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has said a lack of match practice for their Caf Champions League first-round opponents AS Maniema Union will not hand them an advantage.
Masandawana will host the DR Congo side on October 24 in the second leg at Loftus Versfeld Stadium after they engaged in a Premier Soccer League game against Golden Arrows while the visitors were not involved in any matches.
AS Maniema Union have not been in action since October 17 when they drew 2-2 against the PSL champions.
“It might be an advantage, but it can also be a disadvantage because they also have travel to do, and usually when looking at travel, you focus on the flight time, which is usually around four and a half hours,” Mngqithi told the club’s media department.
“Such can have your players even more tied than the actual game. The flight is always not the best thing to have when you are going to play a big match, so I would not say they are advantaged.
“Coming to South Africa and adapting to the conditions might also not be easy. I would not really say there is any advantage, and the fact that we played in midweek is not an issue as we are used to playing in midweek and at weekends.
“We are not going to use that against us because we are used to playing these kinds of matches.”
Mngqithi also warned that they will not rely on history and past home records while facing the visitors in the return.
“Of late, we have tried to win matches away from our home, and it was unfortunate that we could not win this one [the first leg]. Our home record has always been good, but history is not the most important thing. We just have to focus on the match at hand,” he added.
“The fact that we scored two goals away from home might mean nothing. We have to find a way and see that we still dominate, fight to win the match and give a good account of ourselves.
“History in football does not really help much, as you must always focus on what is in front of you and how best you can deliver, and that is what we are trying to do.”
