Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has given his verdict on Surprise Ralani's debut after the big Nedbank Cup win.
Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has given his verdict on Surprise Ralani's debut after the big Nedbank Cup win.
The Brazilians brushed Richards Bay FC aside with a 4-0 thrashing on Friday evening to book their spot in the round of 16.
Ralani opened the scoring on his debut and Mngqithi went on to explain why the winger is able to fit in with the squad.
"We know what he [Ralani] can offer, we told people what he's capable of, the quality that he has is unmatched sometimes, technically very good, makes very few mistakes tactically and understands the game very well," Mngqithi told SuperSport after the game.
"He fits into our style of play because the position that he plays for us is the same position that 'Mshishi' [Themba Zwane] plays, it's the same position as [Thabiso] Kutumela plays, it's the same position that Neo [Maema] plays.
"And Cape Town City are not playing away from us a lot. They are playing almost the same style of football that we do and he understands what we expect from him," he went on.
"I still believe today he could have scored two if he took an extra touch on the chance that he took over the bar but we're happy he smashed the second one, which gave him a little bit more confidence, maybe trust from the supporters and everyone around him.
"Because we believed in him. I must also commend all the coaches for believing in what we're trying to do because credit must go to coach Rhulani [Mokoena] because we were in the Compact [Cup], Steve [Komphela] had to go home because he was bereaved.
"And he [Mokoena] remained behind, trained the team alone and worked with this group, he really did a good work, we must commend his work."
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