PREVIEW: Sundowns defender Mosa Lebusa expects fireworks in showdown with Galaxy

Galaxy host runaway log leaders Masandawana at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga on Wednesday (7.30pm).

The fixture will see two coaches, Rulani Mokwena of Sundowns and the Rockets’ Sead Ramovic, who have become involved in a public spat meet face-to-face since their well-documented war of words.

The opposing coaches have been at loggerheads since Galaxy sent Sundowns crashing out of the Carling Knockout Cup thanks to penalties after a 2-2 draw on November 4.

Ramovic wasn’t pleased that Mokwena didn’t give credit to the opponent but complained about missing seven of his Bafana Bafana stars.

This after the Cup game was played a day after Bafana took on Ivory Coast in a friendly match in Abidjan.

The two have been throwing words at each other since then, with the Rockets mentor recently accusing Mokwena of using foul language towards him during a phone call.

Mokwena dismissed Ramovic as an attention seeker.

All these sideshows have added spice to the fixture that was just another Premier Soccer League game a few months ago.  

While Lebusa didn’t speak about the matter between the two coaches, his choice of words when previewing the game was quite interesting.

“I expect it to be fireworks because the last time we played them they knocked out of the Carling Black Label,” Lebusa said ahead of Wednesday’s encounter.

“And it wasn’t pleasant because at this club we try to play every final of a competition we participate in, but it wasn’t possible.”

Though Sundowns are sitting pretty at the top of the DStv Premiership table with 42 points from 16 outings, they will still give their best with an aim to wrap up the title race early.

The Pretoria giants enjoy an 11-point gap between themselves and closest rivals Cape Town City and SuperSport United, who both have played two more games.

“From our side, we have to give everything because it’s a league game and we are trying to wrap up the league (title race) as early as possible,” Lebusa said.

“I’m expecting a very tough game tomorrow.

“I think they (Galaxy) have good players, it would be unfair to single out one but as a collective, they play very well. Their recent form shows that even their log position, shows that they are a good team that is capable of scoring goals.

“But we are focusing more on ourselves, and we are trying to be better than we were in the previous game,” he said.

Sundowns head to Mbombela after a successful weekend where they defeated TP Mazembe 1-0 to finish at the summit of the CAF Champions League group A.

The seventh-placed Galaxy are fresh from a surprise 2-0 defeat to bottom of the log table Cape Town Spurs.

The loss brought an end to Galaxy’s good run of three victories on the trot.

“The preparations are going well, and we just came from a Champions League game where we just won, and the morale is very good, but we are taking it one game at a time. We are not trying to get ahead of ourselves,” Lebusa said.

“Like I said earlier, I’m expecting fireworks, and they (Galaxy) are not going to make it easier for us and we know we are not entitled to win but we just have to work hard and score and keep a clean sheet at the back. That’s the way we can win the match.”