Miguel Cardoso criticises call to play Orbit despite maximum points

Cardoso had previously called for the match at Olympia Park Stadium to be postponed to allow Sundowns adequate preparation for Friday night’s CAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Stade Malien.

While satisfied with the 2-0 result, the Portuguese mentor admitted the circumstances surrounding the clash left him with mixed feelings.

"I don't think it's a beautiful day for South African football when you have a team like Mamelodi Sundowns playing a Champions League game in three days and being obliged to play today. It's a big disturbance to the preparations for such a match when now on we have to mainly focus on recovering players and not really on the preparation, because there's not really any big conditions to prepare for a match like that," Cardoso said

READ: Makhoye confident Orbit will bounce back after expected Sundowns defeat

 Cardoso revealed that Sundowns then had to approach the second half against Orbit with their congested schedule in mind. 

Sundowns were again impressive with their polished performance to defeat Orbit and move top of the table – and Cardoso explained why.

"The team is showing the values that we want to have in the locker room. We knew the values and understood how to be together. They are committed. I think we have many players, almost all, who are in a good space in terms of performance, which gives us  confidence."

Cardoso handed Monnapule Saleng his full debut against his former team with the coach admitted he should not have left him on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.