Right after the man in the middle Luxolo Badi blew his whistle to signal the end of the match, Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso charged down the tunnel after witnessing his side lose 2-1 to Orlando Pirates.
His instant disappearance from the bench was a clear sign of frustration, and when he eventually returned to the pitch to honour his post-match obligations, Cardoso described his team’s first-half efforts as an approach with “no brain”.
While some fans were still making their way into the FNB Stadium, Relebohile Mofokeng had already scored a brace in five minutes.
“When you start a game like this, you should not expect good things. We had a good reaction after the goal and then we played until half-time with a heart but no brain, the brain stayed in the locker room and football is mostly played with the brain,” Cardoso told SuperSport TV.
“After going 2-0 up, Pirates settled down in the back waiting for nothing, looking for nothing. Sometimes football is like this, (but there’s) nothing to say. We were penalised by our unfortunate entrance in the game, that’s it.
“In the second half we brought more brains to the pitch and unfortunately there was a period in the game where the referee allowed not to play no one (sic)… everybody falling on the ground, no football.
“It is a shame, but it is what we have and that took out our energy. If that was the strategy, it was a good strategy because it took our energy,” Cardoso added.
After their third Betway Premiership defeat this season, Sundowns are now 15 points clear of the Buccaneers, who have four games in hand as Jose Riveiro’s side remain optimistic about their chance to dethrone Downs.
🗣️ "We played until half-time with the heart but no brain. The brain stayed in the locker room."
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 16, 2025
Strong words from Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso on their 2-1 #BetwayPrem loss to Pirates. pic.twitter.com/qRe4leKoAl
