Manqoba Mngqithi feels let down by Khuliso Mudau and Mamelodi Sundowns' 'best players' - They 'could've maybe saved the situation' & Clinton Larsen ecstatic after masterminding so-called national team's downfall 'Golden Arrows tried it, they got five, SuperSport United got four'

Newly-promoted PSL side Magesi FC caused an upset in the 2024 Carling Knockout final as they beat reigning South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday evening.

Goals from Tshepo Kakora and Delano Abrahams earned Dikwena Tsa Meetse a 2-1 victory over Masandawana whose consolation goal was netted by Iqraam Rayners at Toyota Stadium.

GOAL took a look at how the coaches reacted to the match.

Magesi winger Edmore Chirambadare was a constant threat with his runs that kept Sundowns defenders on their toes.

“But the truth is, the boys played very well. They did everything that one wanted, but we made two critical mistakes – one, we knew we could not give Chirambadare this space and time because he’s got a very good left foot and he always puts balls in the box," Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi said.

“And most of their balls are coming from Chirambadare, either from set-pieces or from open play. We knew we could not afford to give him time in the box.

“I’ve not seen the video of what happened in the box, but when you allow crosses against a team like this you’re inviting problems," he added.

“The truth of the matter is, we did everything to win the match but unfortunately when you don’t take your chances and your decision-making is poor and we don’t defend very well in very critical moments – it was unfortunate that our best were the ones who could’ve saved the situation."

Mngqithi feels his right-back Khuliso Mudau could have done better to close down Chirambadare.

"I have not seen the video of what happened in the box but when you allow crosses against a team like this you're inviting problems," said Mngqithi.

"The truth of the matter is we did everything to win the match but unfortunately when you don't take your chances, the decision-making is poor, you can't defend well in critical phases, because we knew in advance they are very good on set-pieces.

"It was unfortunate that our best players are the ones who could've maybe saved the situation because I believe [Khuliso] Mudau had all the time to close that cross," he added.

"But I can't blame Mudau alone because we also knew that the cross would go to far post and we had to make sure that we were marking man-to-man but unfortunately we were caught. Congratulations to Clinton, I think his game plan worked."

“I think we were just unfortunate. I think the universe have called it,” Mngqithi continued.

“Because we did everything to try and win the match, we dominated the match, we were in confrontation with their box, we had a lot of shots at goal, and a lot of shots on target – Chipezeze did very well.

“There were a few moments where I thought maybe the decision-making in the final third where I thought it could’ve been a pass instead of a shot, or a shot instead of a pass, these small details.  

After starting this tournament by eliminating Orlando Pirates and ending it by disappointing Sundowns, It is a fairytale run for Magesi.

"It's called a fairytale isn't it?" Clinton said.

“I'm just happy for the players. I'm so hard on this group of players, sometimes I'm just not fair. But I've got to be that way because we're not the most talented group and it's efforts like this that can reward us with results.

"I'm very happy for them. So many of this group of players have been written off by previous clubs. We've resurrected quite a few careers," he continued.

"But happy for the Chairman, management, supporters and I also want to congratulate Mamelodi Sundowns and their coach for the great team they are."

"We suffered, they were a better team by far, I think the stats are going to show. We [won] against a quality team. A little bit of luck got us the result," Larsen added

The former Bloemfontein Celtic coach went on and revealed why they only started to play on the front foot after going a goal behind and gave an example of coach Gavin Hunt's SuperSport United.

"We wanted to go to the break without conceding, one lapse of concentration, [Lehlohonolo] Mokone did not get tight on Rayners, the other efforts were outside the box, that's exactly what we planned. It's gonna take something special to beat Elvis from so far," Larsen said.

"We had to change in the second-half and be on the front foot. People may ask 'Why did you not do that in the first-half?' Arrows tried it, they got five, SuperSport four.

Larsen talked about how he managed to get it right in terms of tactics ahead of Mngqithi.

"I think the plan worked, we gave away a soft goal but courageous comeback from the boys and I think based on the second-half performance well deserved [win]," Larsen said.

"When you're limited in playing personnel like we are, there's two areas you need to be strong. One is set plays and the other is having athletic players arrive in the box.

"Kakora has done that. I keep talking about the legs that [Tshepo] Kakora, [Tshepo] Mashigo, [Wonderboy] Makhubu and [Deolin] Mekoa have got and they proved that today."