CAF disaster leaves Miguel Cardoso hanging by a thread at Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns’ coach Miguel Cardoso is under the whip and his future at the club is hanging by a thread after he suffered one of the most shocking and embarrassing defeats in the prestigious club’s history on Friday night.

On Tuesday, TS Galaxy could decide Cardoso’s fate in the Carling Knockout last-16 round at Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Sundowns, who are the CAF Champions League title-holders, were knocked out of the competition in the second preliminary round by minnows Wiliete SC of Angola after 1-1 draw in Pretoria on Friday night. The two clubs had played to a goalless draw in the first leg in Angola. Wiliete vaulted into the group stage via their away goal in Pretoria.

A loss against Galaxy could prompt the Sundowns bosses to pull the trigger and avoid further early Cup competition exits.

In Soweto, Orlando Pirates cruised to the group stages in style and sent a strong warning to their opponents with a 5-0 aggregate thrashing of Namibian outfit African Stars, also in the preliminary rounds of the CAF Champions League. Kaizer Chiefs trainer Fernando da Cruz is also licking his wounds after Amakhosi were dumped from the CAF Confederation Cup by the small fry from Zambia, Red Arrows, via penalty kicks.

After Sundowns’ exodus from the competition, Cardoso said: “Of course it was a failure; it was a failure … from the players, to the coaches. We controlled the match … and we could not score the goals. But that is no excuse because the team that played should have won the match.

“There’s a lot of trophies to play for but, obviously, we cannot forget what it means to be out of the Champions League … It’s hard for the coaches because the club has been in the final for the last three years.

“And it’s hard for the club that was supposed to be in group stages for 12 in a row.

“Great empires come from the ashes. Friday was a dark night, but a dark night that can give us energy and the purpose to move forward.”