Advantage Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs? Eric Tinkler explains why Mamelodi Sundowns season is 'going to get harder and harder now'

Mamelodi Sundowns needed a brilliant individual performance from their recently signed star, Brayan Leon, to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-final stage.

Although for the club and their fans, progress in the continental front is highly welcome, this makes their calendar even more congested. Going forward, Downs will be forced to play more games within a shorter period while their top rivals enjoy prolonged rest time in comparison.

Coach Eric Tinkler, whose Sekhukhune United are also in the PSL title race mix, believes the going will only get tougher for the Tshwane giants.

“For Sundowns, I think it’s going to get harder and harder now because they’ve qualified further into CAF," Tinkler said in the Nedbank Cup pre-match conference.

“I saw that TS Galaxy are taking them to [KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga] for their Nedbank Cup Last 16. 

"That’s the other end of the world, and that just makes their life a lot more difficult.

"I can’t take away the quality they have; have they done this before? Yes, [managed heavy schedules while winning the league].”

For eight consecutive seasons, Masandawana have dominated the Premier Soccer League scene. This time around, they face a challenge from Chiefs and Pirates, and Tinkler believes the Pretoria heavyweights should not be concerned by the Soweto giants alone, as other teams are showing ambitious intent.

“But as I said, what’s important here is that other clubs have raised the bar. Pirates have raised the bar, and we [Sekhukhune] are currently raising it," the Bafana Bafana legend argued.

"Kaizer Chiefs are performing much better than in previous seasons, and AmaZulu are having an outstanding season with a young squad. Galaxy have also got a lot better. There are going to be teams taking points away from Sundowns, so I don’t see that gap getting massive.

“A few weeks ago, the gap between us and ninth place was smaller. But the gap from third to ninth has actually grown now.

"Previously, Sundowns would be nine points ahead of everyone else at this stage, with Pirates perhaps four or five points ahead of the rest. Now, the gap between 13th and 5th is significant, which shows a real improvement in the quality of the teams competing at the top," he added.

Recently, within a week, Miguel Cardoso's men were faced with tough challenges: a Champions League encounter against Rhulani Mokwena's MC Alger and the high-stakes showdown against Pirates.

In both tests, they emerged victorious despite their struggles and inconsistencies that have put the coach under immense pressure.

The game against MC Alger was a fate-determining duel since they were staring at a possible elimination. Should the match against Bucs not have gone their way, the Sea Robbers would have opened a nine-point gap, which would have complicated, if not ended, Downs' title defence bid.

They came through both tests with flying colours and will be filled with confidence as the season enters its last few months.