Share

Denis Onyango: Facing Pitso Mosimane makes it a little bit more interesting

accreditation
0:00
play article
Subscribers can listen to this article
Denis Onyango (Gallo Images)
Denis Onyango (Gallo Images)

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango admits that facing former coach Pitso Mosimane makes their CAF Champions League quarter final first leg against Al Ahly that little bit more interesting.

Mosimane left Sundowns at the end of last season after leading the Brazilians to three successive league titles to take the reins at Africa's richest club.

The two sides meet for the third time in three consecutive seasons on Saturday (kick-off is at 21:00 SA time), with Downs having won the 2019 tie and the Egyptian giants gaining revenge last season.

"We anticipate a very tough encounter; looking at the fact that we've played them, I think now this is the third time in a row. We are facing our former coach (Pitso Mosimane), it makes it a little bit more interesting for us and also for them. We are looking forward to the encounter, and we will try to get a positive result away from home so that by the time we play the second leg, it's not as tough as the first leg. We believe that we will get a positive result on the weekend," said Onyango.

"When you play a team of Al Ahly's calibre or Zamalek or any team from North Africa, you need to work extremely hard, you need to have tactical discipline from all the players, and you must be able to take your chances because if you don't take your chances, you get punished. It's a team with a lot of quality players, and we need to be very, very careful with them.

"We need to take our chances and at least get an away goal, but our main objective is to try and win the game and see how the second leg will be played because you can never count on the second leg without getting positive results from the first leg."

The Ugandan goalminder has let in just 10 goals in 24 league matches and kept 15 clean sheets.

"Of course, it's part of the process having a lot of clean sheets in the DStv Premiership, but Kennedy [Mweene] has also done it for the team, which means it's not only about the goalkeeping department, but the entire team has also been working hard to make sure that we get enough clean sheets," he added.

"I believe that if we do the same in the Champions League, we will be able to go as far as the finals because we defend as a team and attack as a team, the team has to work extremely hard to make sure that we get a clean sheet away from home."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
68% - 1179 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
32% - 562 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE