Sundowns legends predict an easy win against Richards Bay

Former Mamelodi Sundowns striker Katlego Mashego reckons Richards Bay have no chance of causing an upset against his former team.

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Bay will be at home to the Brazilians in a Betway Premiership match on Saturday afternoon, looking to end the year on a positive note after a poor start to the first half of the season.

Truter leaves

The embattled KwaZulu-Natal club parted ways with former coach Brandon Truter after a seven-match winless run at the end of last month.

Although the Natal Rich Boyz come into the game on the back of a morale-boosting 1-0 victory over Golden Arrows, Mashego says the game should be a walk in the park for the Tshwane giants.

“They have a big sponsor, and I thought they would buy players this season. It’s a game Mamelodi Sundowns should win,” he said on the Sundowns pitchside podcast.

“It’s Richards Bay, and it shouldn’t be a problem, we know how football is, but Sundowns should win this game. Even if you’re motivated, it doesn’t mean motivation fixes your first touch.

“The singing can be loud, but (what happens on) the green grass will tell us. Like I said, I don’t like upsets because big teams should win, and Sundowns is a big team.”

Sundowns tails are up

Masandawana have their tails up after three successive victories under new coach Miguel Cardoso. Former Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana, who has now carved a career as an analyst, agrees with Mashego that 15th-placed Bay won’t trouble the reigning champions.

“Sundowns should easily win the match if they play the Mamelodi Sundowns way. If Sundowns play their way, they will win easily and comfortably,” Kekana added.

“It goes back to the position that I stress: roles need to be played properly in midfield. If you play a team that has individuals like (Somila) Ntsundwana and (Yanela) Mbuthuma upfront, who like to break the line, don’t give them the ball.

“Make sure that for long periods of time, they don’t have the ball, and you must shift them around so that by the time they get the ball, you can easily get it back because players don’t like to spend two minutes without touching the ball.

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“It’s something they don’t like, but when you do that to a team like Richards Bay, then you stand a big chance of winning a football match, because no one wants to mark the whole match.”