Manqoba Mngqithi on ‘temptation’ to start Allende and Nasir

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has reacted to calls for Abubeker Nasir and Marcelo Allende to be thrown into the starting line-up.

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Both signings have had a flying start with the Tshwane giants, scoring two goals when coming off the bench on two occasions.

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Mngqithi says there is no “temptation” to start their new lads as the technical team is still assessing them.

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MNGQITHI ON NASIR AND ALLENDE

“I wouldn’t really feel there’s a temptation to start them, I think it will probably be based on the processes that we are following inside in terms of the number of minutes that we think they can play,” Mngqithi said.

“If we feel they are ready to give us the ninety minutes, we might decide to start them because it was never an issue of whether they can start or not, it was mainly an issue of how far they can go in a match.

“They have played two matches as substitutes, the possibility of them, or one of them starting is there – but we have to see what happens in the matchday minus one training.”

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In other news, Mngqithi says his side is capable of defending their MTN8 title having won the 2021 edition.

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On Monday evening the Tshwane giants were drawn against Orlando Pirates in a two-legged semi-final.

The Brazilians will make the trip to Orlando Stadium in the first leg before they host the return leg at Loftus Versfeld.

Masandawana beat SuperSport United 2-0 while the Buccaneers overcame Royal AM 2-1 to reach the last four.

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MNGQITHI REACTS TO MTN8 SEMI-FINAL DRAW

“I think this was never going to be an easy draw for anyone, when you’ve got four teams that are currently doing very well you could expect anything. We could’ve had AmaZulu or Kaizer Chiefs and all of them are currently doing well at the moment, we just have to take whoever we get and trust in our process and trust in our team,” Mngqithi told Sundownsfc.co.za following the draw. 

After chasing the cup for over a decade, the Tshwane giants were victorious in their quest last season after beating Kaizer Chiefs in the quarter-finals, Golden Arrows in the semi-finals and Cape Town City in the final.

Bafana Ba Style lifted the trophy after winning 3-2 in a shoot-out following extra-time which had seen the game locked at 1-1.

Mngqithi is confident that his troops can defend the Wafa Wafa Cup.

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“We think our team is capable of defending our trophy, and we will give it our best shot with all the respect that is necessary. Of course we could never take anyone for granted in this competition, more especially [because] this season everybody is really, really working very hard to show that they are prepared, so we will give it our best shot.”

The opening leg of the semi-finals will take place in the first week of October with the second leg on the weekend of 22/23 October.

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