Cardoso refuses to blame absentees for shock CAFCL exit

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso admitted his side would have been stronger with several key players available but refused to blame their absence after the Brazilians were eliminated from the CAF Champions League by Wiliete SC.

Sundowns crashed out of the competition on the away-goals rule following a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their second-round tie, with the absence of key players, including Teboho Mokoena, Khuliso Mudau, Grant Kekana and Keanu Cupido, limiting Cardoso’s options.

Mokoena’s absence was particularly significant, given his importance to the team, but Cardoso insisted that the players who were available should have done enough to secure progression.

Read: Cardoso admits Sundowns' CAF CL exit is a 'failure' after Wiliete shock

“Regarding what we miss or what we don’t miss, there are many things we miss. If you see this team and compare it to the one that finished the Champions League last year, one has nothing to do with the other, but that is not an excuse at all,” Cardoso said in his post-match press conference at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

“The team that played today should have won the match. We could be stronger, we will be stronger with those players, of course we would be stronger, because it will give us more viability, to allow us to choose other options.”

Despite acknowledging the impact of the missing players, the Portuguese coach maintained that Sundowns created enough opportunities to win the match and had only themselves to blame for failing to take their chances.

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“But it is not an excuse, we should have won the match with the players we had on the pitch and the ones that entered because we created enough chances to win. Basically, we did not lose the match, we drew two matches,” the former Esperance coach insisted.

Cardoso also pointed to Sundowns’ failure to capitalise on their opportunities, arguing that the team needed to be more clinical, particularly when holding the advantage in a tie that could be decided by fine margins.

The 54-year-old coach further acknowledged the pressure that can affect less-experienced players at this level, while stressing that the entire team had to take responsibility for the disappointing outcome.

“With all respect, there is no excuse, we should have done better. We all should have done better,” Cardoso added.

The result ends Sundowns’ Champions League campaign, after exiting the tournament in the qualifying rounds for the first time since 2015.

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Caf Champions League Mamelodi Sundowns Miguel Cardoso Wiliete Sport Clube