Sundowns targeting qualification against Maniema

Yesterday at 08:00 AM

Miguel Cardoso will be looking to bounce back from his first defeat at the helm of Mamelodi Sundowns when they face AS Maniema Union at the Stade des Martyrs on Saturday, January 11.

Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Cardoso saw his perfect start as head coach come to an end as the Brazilians went down 1-0 to Raja Casablanca in Morocco on January 4, with Bathusi Aubaas and Khuliso Mudau having both been sent off in a fiery encounter.

Bafana ba Style have won just one of their four matches in Group B and trail leaders AS FAR by three points in second place, while the Green Eagles are breathing down their necks a further point back in third position.

The Greens and Blacks aren’t out of the reckoning yet despite not picking up a win in the group stages as three draws means they sit just two points behind Sundowns with two fixtures left to play.

Cardoso stressed the importance of not dwelling on the disappointment of the result against Raja, but rather looking ahead to the trip to Kinshasa in a bid to take a step closer to the knockout phase.

Maniema, who held Masandawana to a goalless stalemate first up on November 26, also saw their unbeaten run in the group come to an end on matchday four with a 2-0 loss to the Militarians in Meknes.

However, the DR Congo outfit have proven a tough nut to crack on home soil after playing out to successive 1-1 draws with the two Botola Pro clubs.