Mamelodi Sundowns Head Coach Rulani Mokwena Says "It's Not Always the Best Team That Wins" a Cup Tournament
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Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena has acknowledged that it is not always the best team that wins a cup tournament, after his side were bundled out of the Nedbank Cup in the quarter-finals. The Brazilians had been defending champions of the competition, but fell to a 2-1 loss to Stellenbosch. This result marked the end of their winless run, which had stretched to four matches since they were crowned DStv Premiership champions with seven matches to spare.
Mokwena made a comparison between the league competition and cup tournaments, noting that the former is a more difficult competition to win, as it requires a team to be consistent throughout the season. On the other hand, he stated that cup tournaments require more luck, which he felt Sundowns did not have against Stellies.
"Look, the hard one always and I've said this before, is the league, that's a competition where you have to be consistent to win it," Mokwena said in a press conference. "It's not always the best team that wins the cup, sometimes you need the rub of the green to be able to get the result. Even though I thought (Stellenbosch) were better than us, they also had moments where they had more luck than us."
Mokwena also noted that there were some crucial refereeing decisions that he felt could have gone their way, but opted not to blame the officials for the loss. He pointed out that when Sundowns had won games in the past, he had said nothing about the referees, and thus could not do so now when they had lost.
Sundowns will now switch their focus to the CAF Champions League quarter-finals, where they will travel to Algerian side Belouizdad in the first-leg on Saturday. Despite the disappointment of their Nedbank Cup exit, the team will be hoping to make the most of this opportunity and progress further in the African competition.
