Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has blamed a punishing fixture schedule for his side’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to TS Galaxy in a result that rocked the Betway Premiership title race.
Sundowns’ title ambitions suffered a crushing setback at Mbombela Stadium after Galaxy produced a spirited display to hand the defending champions one of their most painful defeats of the season.
The loss ended Sundowns’ campaign in disastrous fashion and opened the door for rivals in the race for league glory, with questions now being asked about whether fatigue finally caught up with the Pretoria giants.
Cardoso did not hold back after the match, revealing the extreme physical demands his players faced during the final stretch of the season.
“I don’t think anyone has tried to play seven matches in 21 days,” said Cardoso.
“We played the last four matches always on the third day. It’s very easy for me now to criticise my players because they were tired and were not as quick and fluid as usual, but I will not do it.”
The Portuguese mentor defended his squad despite the collapse, insisting exhaustion played a major role in the team’s lack of sharpness against a determined Galaxy side that punished Sundowns’ mistakes.
Although Sundowns managed to score twice, they looked unusually vulnerable defensively as TS Galaxy repeatedly exposed gaps at the back in a thrilling contest.
The defeat could go down as one of the most damaging results of Sundowns’ season, especially after spending much of the campaign leading the Betway Premiership standings.
No tags for this post.
