Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has opened up on Peter Shalulile's historic moment against Magesi FC, giving somewhat of a hint that the player is likely to stay despite recent reports of an exit.
Shalulile sealed victory for Sundowns with a goal that put him right on top of the PSL all-time top scorers list with the legendary Siyabonga Nomvethe, taking his tally to 129 in the topflight of South African football.
Sundowns sealed a 2-0 victory in a hard-fought encounter on Wednesday night, registering their second win in the Betway Premiership this season.
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Shalulile has been linked with a move to Tunisian giants Esperance in recent weeks, but has been featuring in the matchday squad for Sundowns. He got his first start of the season against Magesi and, after bagging goal number 129, Cardoso said it's important for the experienced striker to help Sundowns win matches.
"When players achieve their objectives and they make the history and we as a team help them to achieve those achievements, we also feel proud and happy. As you saw, I went to congratulate and give him a hug. It's important for Peter to help us win matches. Him and the team made a wonderful job. Very resillient because it was a very difficult match. We brought in a lot of young players as you saw, but we knew that we could reinforce the team from the bench and that would help. All of them did well and congratulations to the team and for Peter," Cardoso told media after the clash at Seshego Stadium.
Cardoso gave Lebo Mothiba his first minutes of the season and said the striker will need a bit more time to get back to his best. Mothiba looked a bit rusty, wasting a good opportunity to open his scoring account for the campaign.
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"Mothiba was a player that we knew could not play more than 20 or 25 minutes. We need to be very careful with him. He's a wonderful player, a wonderful human being and he deserves all the respect from us. We are working detailed with him and he's also been working very well with us, so that we can have him more time and time of the match."
Sundowns will face Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 second leg semi-final at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
