Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has spoken about the team's loss against Stellenbosch FC and their exit in the Nedbank Cup.
The Brazilians were defeated by Stellies 2-1 at the Athlone Stadium and Mokwena admitted after the match that his side was not at their best and deserved to lose.
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Downs had been in front through an own goal from goalkeeper Lee Langeveldt and went to the break leading 1-0, before in-form striker Iqraam Rayners scored two goals in the second half to help the Winelands outfit to progress to the semi-finals where they will face Sekhukhune United.
Mokwena, speaking to journalists in a post-match press conference, was honest in his assessment of the game.
"I thought we lost a lot of the duels and it was very difficult to find a bit of rhythm in our passes and they forced us into mistakes. We made two big mistakes and they punished us. As I said, congratulations to them and I wish Steve Barker and his team all the best for the tournament," said Mokwena, speaking to the media.
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"Today we didn't have the rhythm and competitive intensity if I may call it. We will get it right. I'm very proud of the players, what they have done this season has been incredible. As I've said to you so many times, maybe I sit here as a coach and I'm more proud of them than I ever have been. Despite the pressures, despite how difficult it is, it's very tough at the moment. Every opponent has time to prepare for us and we only have one or two days to prepare for an opponent. Physically, opponents only play one game a week, of course the element of freshness comes in and you could see it in certain moments today. Tactically, they have time to review and come up with plans and solutions and you could see it with all the opposition that we have played so far. But it's not for us to find excuses," the coach said.
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