A Nuno Santos brace secured the win for Sundowns in the African-Asian-Pacific Cup clash, sending Masandawana through to the next stage of the tournament, where they’ll face the winner of Toluca’s CONCACAF Champions Cup triumph against this year’s Copa Libertadores winner.
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Speaking to Sabq after the match, Pušić felt his side had done enough in patches to deserve more from the game, though he was full of praise for Sundowns’ cohesion.
“I think we played a good match today in the second half, and I think in general there was one team that should have been ahead in the first half by two or three goals, and that is us. I think we were unlucky in this match,” Pušić said.
“Sundowns are a team that have been working together for a while here and in the national team, and they are a team that plays well, but I think we controlled a large part of the match well without conceding big chances until the last 30 minutes of the second half,” he added.
The Al Ahli coach acknowledged trying to target weaknesses in the Sundowns setup, but couldn’t find the finishing touch to make it count.
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“I think we also used their weaknesses well; we just didn’t score the goal, and I want to congratulate them as well because they won this cup,” he said.
“Sundowns are a big club and a strong team, and they deserved to win today. If we had scored the goals, the situation would have been different.”
Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
