The Brazilians, who are fresh from qualifying for the CAF Champions League final following their win over Al Ahly, face Richards Bay tomorrow night at Loftus Stadium, and the coach wanted a breather before travelling to the Mother City.

It’s understood Downs requested the game to be moved to another date altogether, but instead the PSL brought it forward.

Cardoso says this is unacceptable.

"Surprisingly, our match on Sunday was moved to Saturday, so now we have a match on Wednesday, and again on Saturday. Difficulties are just going to make us stronger, and that's how we are going to face this championship until the end," said the Portuguese tactician.

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The Portuguese mentor adds that “ambition” will drive them in their quest to compete on different fronts in the midst of a congested schedule.

"When you feed yourself from victory, you need to look at the next fixture in order to keep your mind and soul at peace.

"That's what we need to do, approach the next matches we have with ambition, and try to get as many points as possible, as quickly as possible," declared Cardoso.

Meanwhile, Cardoso reached his second successive Champions League final, having guided Esperance de Tunis there last year, but lost to Ahly.

He credited the support from within Sundowns for their run in the tournament.

The final against another Egyptian side Pyramids, will be played over two legs on 24 May and 1 June.

Cardoso wants the league title race out of the way by then.

Local Start Time Venue	23 Oct at 11:00 AM
Local Time	23 Oct at 05:30 AM
Toss	Tripura won the toss and chose to field
Country	India
City	Dehra Dun
Venue	Abhimanyu Cricket Academy
Established	0000
Result	Uttar Pradesh won by 68 runs

Finished Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy