Mamelodi Sundowns striker Brayan Leon was guilty of missing a couple of golden chances in the CAF Champions League final against AS Far.
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Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso knows his team should be taking a greater advantage into the CAF Champions League final second leg in Morocco, but believes they have the ‘mentality’ to get the job done in Rabat next week.
A stunning left-footed free kick from Aubrey Modiba was enough to propel Sundowns to a 1-0 victory in the first leg in Pretoria on Sunday. But the South African champions should have won by a bigger margin, with the hosts, and particularly ace marksman Brayan Leon, wasting a couple of gilt-edged chances.
Leon, who has five goals in the CAF Champions League, blasted one opportunity over the bar from the edge of the box before the Colombian fluffed a clear one-on-one with the AS Far goalkeeper by pushing his shot wide of the post.
Midfielder Teboho Mokoena also hit the upright with a free kick in a bid to extend Sundowns’ lead.
“We should have scored one more goal. And create a little bit better advantage and be one more foot on the front,” Cardoso said post-match.
“But it's not easy to break this team on counterattacks or on quick attacks because their fullbacks don't attack a lot. So they were not that much exposed in terms of spaces.
“I think we had to manage the ball and take them from one side to the other in order to indeed in that moment find spaces. Here and then we were not able but we were in the major part of the game. That's the mentality we need to take on the second match.”
A hostile reception awaits the Brazilians in Rabat**,** with the second leg sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale. The famed “Black Army” will no doubt transform the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium into a fortress in a bid to spur their team on to overturn the deficit.
Cardoso, though, is confident his team will step up to the challenge.
“We proved ourselves that we can compete with this team and as we compete with any other team. And we need to take that energy in the second match, of course, so that we can fight for the trophy,” he said.
“We should not drop any kind of energy because we didn't score. The moments of decisions are up front. And we need to look at the second match, be able to close our ears, forget what will happen in the stands and play the football we can play wherever in the continent.”