Manqoba Mngqithi details how his inside knowledge of Mamelodi Sundowns aided Golden Arrows in frustrating Masandawana - 'I think I was helped more by that'

Golden Arrows forced Mamelodi Sundowns to come back from behind for a 1-1 Premier Soccer League draw at Mpumalanga Stadium on Wednesday.

It was Manqoba Mngqithi's first match on his return to Abafana Bas'thende.

The former Sundowns coach explains how he managed to plot against his ex-employers.

“I think I was helped more by that [having worked with Sundowns players] because I’ve played a lot of games against Golden Arrows when I was still at Sundowns,” said Mngqithi as per FARPost. 

“I was the one preparing when we play against Arrows [to make sure] we are in a better space in terms of organisation because I know most of these kids. 

“But I was particularly impressed by the attitude and mentality from the very first training session. I only had two sessions [since arriving on Monday]. 

“And the first session was mainly for the players that never played. Then, the second session was yesterday [Tuesday], where after a lot of talks in terms of organisation and showing them videos of what to expect, they adapted very quickly in a new system," added the former AmaZulu coach.

“They have not been playing a 4-3-3 formation, and I was so impressed to see them adapt so quickly and really trying to stamp their authority in moments where I thought Sundowns were struggling with midfield overload. 

“But we didn’t capitalise in trying to be a little bit more incisive in getting into more dangerous positions when we were in possession. We only got a lot of good moments in transition.”

Mngqithi started his third tenure as Arrows coach on a promising note, although he extended their winless run in the league to five matches.

But holding a relentless Sundowns could give hope that Abafana Bes'thende will rise from position 11 into the top eight under the new coach.

This is a tactician who spent 10 years being exposed to the highest standard of football at Sundowns and what he gained could be valuable to Arrows.

After being eliminated from the Nedbank Cup, Arrows will not be active this weekend but will return to action on March 12 when they visit Polokwane City.

Mngqithi would be hoping the draw against Sundowns planted confidence in his men and they would be able to build on that.