Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has called for a more aggressive and attacking approach from his side as they prepare to face Wiliete SC in the second leg of their CAF soccer encounter at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on Thursday.
The Brazilians were held to a goalless draw by the Angolan outfit in the first leg, leaving the tie finely balanced ahead of the return fixture, when Sundowns will be determined to make home advantage count and secure progression to the next round.
While disappointed with the result, Cardoso believes his side created opportunities to take a positive result from the first encounter but failed to capitalise on their moments in front of goal.
“We are obviously not happy with this result," Cardoso said.
"We should and could have scored in the moments we had. It felt as though we were creating opportunities, but in the second half, we needed to adjust and become more aggressive and attacking.
“We need to be braver on the ball and we need to be stronger than everyone.
"We need to be at the level of a team that wants to establish itself in the championship."
Sundowns struggled at times to implement their usual pressing and counter-pressing game in Angola, with Wiliete using long balls behind the defence to stretch the visitors and to disrupt their rhythm.
Cardoso was quick to acknowledge the quality of Wiliete, highlighting their standing near the top of the Angolan championship and comparing their level to that of Petro de Luanda.
The Portuguese coach also stressed the difficulties of playing in Angola, saying his team needed to remain strong, committed and tactically disciplined against opponents who made life difficult with their direct approach.
“We knew we had to be very strong and committed in our approach to the match," he said.
"Obviously, we wanted to score goals and put ourselves in a better position ahead of the second leg."
