Lunga Voices His Opinions: Sundowns Press On in the Race

Devine Lunga, the defender for Mamelodi Sundowns, highlights that the team is staying composed and fully focused as they prepare for their pivotal Betway Premiership clash against Siwelele at Loftus Versfeld Stadium this Saturday.

The current champions enter this match seeking a robust comeback following a frustrating 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs earlier this week. This draw has notably affected Masandawana’s title ambitions, reigniting a competition they hoped to settle weeks ago.

Nonetheless, Sundowns still occupy the top spot in the Premiership with 65 points and two games left to play. The pressure is mounting, with Orlando Pirates closely trailing at 62 points and three matches remaining, giving the Buccaneers significant control over their own destiny.

Sundowns aim for an extraordinary ninth consecutive league title, yet head coach Miguel Cardoso recently admitted that the trophy is not entirely in their grasp anymore. Their success now relies on finishing flawlessly and possibly receiving some help from the teams facing Pirates.

Lunga assures that there is no sense of panic within the locker room.

“The mood in the team is positive despite not achieving the result we wanted against Chiefs,” Lunga stated.

“Our complete focus is on the upcoming match against Siwelele, and we’ll be aiming for maximum points. The competition is still active – there’s nothing unexpected about that – and we intend to take it one game at a time, as we always have.”

“As Sundowns, we must refrain from putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves, but our commitment to winning must remain steadfast. This method of approaching each game individually has been effective for us over the years, and we will not change that now.”

Lunga also warned that Siwelele will present a significant challenge, especially as teams aim to finish the season strongly.

“Siwelele has been in great form lately, so we anticipate a challenging match, particularly with the end of the league season approaching,” he added.

“We hold every opponent in high regard, as there are no weak teams in this league; they all warrant our respect.”

“As I said, Siwelele has been performing admirably, and we expect a tough battle as they will be fighting hard. We are ready and will put forth our best effort to secure all three points.”

After facing Siwelele, Sundowns will travel to Mpumalanga for their final league match against TS Galaxy on Tuesday. In their previous encounter with Galaxy, Sundowns experienced a 2-0 defeat in the Nedbank Cup, resulting in their elimination from the tournament.