Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso raises concerns despite dramatic Golden Arrows victory - 'There’s obviously some learning to do'

Mamelodi Sundowns kept their title charge on track with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Golden Arrows, but the manner of the win left head coach Miguel Cardoso far from fully satisfied.

The result took Masandawana to the summit of the Betway Premiership, yet Cardoso made it clear that the three points were earned through determination rather than a polished tactical display.

"I’m obviously happy with the character we’ve shown because sometimes if you concede a goal like that, you don’t have the mental capacity to be resilient and to fight for something," Cardoso told the media.

Cardoso was particularly impressed by the mental resilience shown by his charges, believing the squad is starting to embrace the winning mentality he is determined to build at Chloorkop.

The coach also pointed to the importance of a strong collective mindset, which he sees as vital for Sundowns as they navigate the demands of domestic football while chasing success on the continental stage.

"So it means that the message, the character and attitude we’re trying to build is strong. No one can destroy the attitude, and that is something that we have to state all the time.

"It will not obviously happen every time that we score in the last minute, but if we believe, it will happen more frequently, and the team showed belief."

Despite the relief of the late winner, Cardoso was far from impressed with his side’s lack of composure in the closing stages. He felt his players became too adventurous when they should have shown greater maturity and discipline to see out the result.

The Sundowns coach stressed the need to manage games more intelligently once an advantage has been secured, warning that unnecessary risks can leave the team exposed to dangerous counter-attacks.

"What I didn’t like is that after we scored the two-one, we still went to go attack like it was the last minute of the match and we were losing by two goals," Cardoso explained.

"But we needed to have the maturity at that point to manage the game and keep the ball in the right places to finish the game in the few minutes that were remaining. There’s obviously some learning to do from this match so that we can become stronger in the future."

Sundowns will now turn their attention to Siwelele, who fired their coach this week after a poor run of results, in a midweek fixture that will see the Brazilians aiming to keep their impressive run going.

With the pressure to remain at the summit mounting, the Tshwane giants will be expected to carry their winning mentality into another demanding league assignment.

However, Cardoso will also demand greater control and composure from his players after admitting there is still plenty of room for improvement despite their latest three-point haul.