The Sunday News
SuperSport United coach Kaitano Tembo was left star-struck after he was handed a huge compliment by Mamelodi Sundowns president Patrice Motsepe on Wednesday night.
SuperSport beat Sundowns 2-0 at Loftus Stadium to claim the bragging rights in the Tshwane Derby (South Africa).
Before the game, Matsatsantsa had not beaten The Brazilians for the past six years and their victory came with a cherry on top when Motsepe interrupted the post-match interviews to congratulate Tembo on the result.
“It means a lot,” a blushing former Dynamos and Warriors defender said. “It means a lot because it shows that he is someone that appreciates. He could have been upset because his team is also fighting for the league but for him to take his time to come congratulate us is so special.”
Matsatsantsa’s 2-0 win has also helped them retain their hopes of winning the league with four games left before the end of the season.
Tembo took over the reigns as head coach of the South African side at the beginning of the 2018-19 season, after saving as an assistant coach for a number of years.
Tembo feels the title race is far from over and believes anything can happen in the next few games.
Matsatsantsa moved to fourth position, seven points behind log leaders Orlando Pirates with a game in hand while Mamelodi Sundowns dropped to third spot.
“I think we managed the game very well, we knew that their full-backs will be going high up and we needed to use the space in the pockets they leave (behind) and also deal with the balls over our defence. So our distances were very good,” Tembo told SuperSport TV.
“Our pressing was very good and we defended the box very well because we know they play a short passing game and combinations,” he continued.
“We knew after watching their videos that their back post they always leave it open. I told him (Grant Kekana) if you go there, you’re going to score and that’s what happened. But we had to wait. We spent the whole week trying to work on our set-plays and make sure we take advantage of that especially at the back post.”
The Zimbabwean tactician reserved praise for Clayton Daniels and Grant Kekana for their defensive work against the defending champions.
“They read the game well. They have been playing very well. With the pace Sundowns have, I needed people who can read the game. I think Clayton (Daniels) and Grant (Kekana) did that very well.
“It’s not done yet. There’s still a lot of points to play for and anything can happen. We have four games to go; that’s 12 points. If we can try to win all of them who knows where we gonna finish? So we keep on fighting,” he said.–kickoff.
