Mamelodi Sundowns’ 2-1 loss to Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout final will dominate headlines for the next couple of days, with every critic pointing out where it all went wrong for Masandawana.
Apart from Magesi coach Clinton Larsen, very few gave the Betway Premiership rookies a chance to cause such a huge upset on Saturday night.
Sundowns’ Mngqithi under scrutiny
Before the dust settles, expect every coach that has a media-friendly agent to be linked with Sundowns. Such is the unfortunate nature of football and Manqoba Mngqithi’s capabilities will come under more scrutiny.
But if we’re being honest, Sundowns lost to a team that is well drilled and showed no signs of fear throughout the 90 minutes.
Three takeaways from Magesi’s stunning cup win over Sundowns
Larsen has assembled a strong team, with so-called rejects from other PSL teams. They won last season’s Motsepe Foundation Championship. And now the Limpopo side have now done the unthinkable by claiming their first piece of silverware in top-flight football.
No wonder Larsen’s players were in tears after the final whistle. Getting the better of Orlando Pirates, TS Galaxy, Richards Bay and Sundowns to lift the league cup has nothing to do with luck, but is about sheer determination and tactical discipline.
Larsen has debunked the ever growing myth that you need a big cheque book to compete against Sundowns. The rhetoric is borderline lazy from coaches who clearly don’t have the tactical nous to stop the league champions.
Magesi exploit Sundowns’ weakness
If there’s a Sundowns weakness that has always been there, even under former coach Rulani Mokwena, it’s their vulnerability at set-pieces. Delano Abrahams’ late winner was not fluke but any football follower could see that it was engineered in training and executed at the Free State Stadium.
Larsen is proving to be a meticulous planner who relishes the underdog tag. The former Bloemfontein Celtic coach showed his tactical prowess to once again stun the former Caf Champions League winners.
The 53-year-old led Celtic to the 2012 Telkom Knockout title. Ironically, they also beat Sundowns in the final there.
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