Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has commented on yet another sending off for the club.
Since his appointment, Bathusi Aubass (twice), Khuliso Mudau, Ronwen Williams and now Tashreeq Matthews have been sent off. Matthews was sent off on Sunday afternoon in the Nedbank Cup last 16 clash against lower division side Mphene Home Defenders.
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Matthews had opened the scoring for Sundowns with a cheeky backheel in the first half, but the Brazilians had to finish the game with 10 men when he was sent off for a dangerous challenge in the second half. At the time, the Tshwane giants were leading 2-0 and hardly broke a sweat as they booked a spot in the quarter-finals.
After the game, Cardoso admitted that it was a dangerous tackle, but feels that it was not intentional.
"The worst thing we get from this game is obviously we lost a player. There's no sense in these kind of games to lose players at all. But it's not an aggressive action, but it's an action that is dangerous and we totally accept the red card. But we cannot say it was intentional. The moment the other player takes the ball out, Tash (Matthews) puts the foot and steps on the foot of the other player. It's not intentional but it's fair to have the second yellow," Cardoso said after the match in a press conference."
Cardoso used the match to give some of his non-regulars an opportunity to get game time. Players such as Arthur Sales, Asekho Tiwani and Terrence Mashego got a chance to prove themselves. With injuries a possible problem in future, Cardoso wants to make sure some of the fringe players get a chance to play competitively, so that they are ready to contribute when they are needed.
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"I do hope that we don't have injuries and I do hope the players that are injured really can reinforce us. We hope that the players who are finishing the recovery process can help the team in the near future. It will be a challenge because as I spoke we have eight games in a row in one match. This is something that should never happen in football. It's not normal. It's really difficult to cope with and I really hope the players can sustain the effort. We have to cope with it and that's why we gave opportunities to players who have not played so much, so that they get the effort that comes from a proper game, which is different from a training session or a friendly match."
Sundowns travel to Bloemfontein Celtic to face Marumo Gallants in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday.
