Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi feels there are aspects of their game they could have executed in a better way to win by a wider margin but that restricted them to a narrow 1-0 Caf Champions League victory over Tout Puissant Mazembe at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday.
Despite the win seeing them opening an unassailable nine-point lead in Group B to qualify for the quarter-finals with two games to spare, Mngqithi was not satisfied with their play.
The Sundowns coach now demands an improved showing to complete a six-match winning streak in their group campaign when they visit Al Hilal Omdurman before hosting CR Bleouizdad next month.
“It is one of those matches when you have won and qualified [for the quarter-finals] from the group but you are saying we could have kept the ball better, we could have taken better decisions,” Mngqithi told the media.
“I still believe it was not a 1-0 match, I think we could have scored three or four goals had we taken some of the chances we had. But be that as it may, it’s comforting to know that we got six points against Mazembe. I think that is a very big thing for us.
“Having qualified, in my honest opinion I still want to win the last two matches. The coaches are working very hard as well as the whole team to make sure that we keep the fight. We don’t have an excuse, we have to try our level to give a better show than we gave today. I think we are capable of playing far much better than how we played.”
The win over Mazembe saw Sundowns recording their 10th successive victory across all competitions and also extending their unbeaten run to 25 games.
They last tasted defeat when they were eliminated from the MTN8 by Bloemfontein Celtic last October.
Mngqithi has also hinted that injured attacker Kermit Erasmus could be out for a long time as they search for cover for him.
Erasmus came on as a second-half substitute in last weekend's Premier Soccer League win over Stellenbosch but lasted just 12 minutes after he received a knock.
“We have lost Kermit now so there might be the need to have somebody up-top who can also retain possession, give us direction or maybe establish play,” said Mngqithi.
“We also need more cover for Mshishi [Themba Zwane], Gaston [Sirino] and for [Lesedi] Kapinga who is also injured to make sure that we always have sufficient creative players within our team.”
Sundowns now prepare to host Black Leopards in a league match on Sunday.