By Mark Ogagan
Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Nigeria defender, Muisi Ajao has attributed Sundowns’ defeat by Esperance of Tunisia in last Friday’s second leg semi-final CAF Champions League duel in Pretoria to the home team’s indecisiveness and a glaring lack of ‘cutting edge.’
Ajao, in an exclusive chat with Amatropics Media Editor, Mark Ogagan in Johannesburg, was giving his reasons on why the South African champions crashed out of the money-spinning continental showpiece.
Sundowns bowed out of the semi-final tie to Esperance on a 0-2 aggregate score, losing by identical 0-1 scorelines in Tunis and Pretoria.
“I think Sundowns have had too much on their plate recently, playing so many extra matches in the current season including the newly-introduced African Football League, (AFL), so the cracks, obviously, were beginning to show.
“However, I believe they had opportunities to kill off the game against Esperance, particularly in Pretoria, but lacked the cutting edge to make a significant difference,” added Ajao, a prominent member of the Sundowns side that finished as CAF Champions League runners-up in 2001.
He stressed further: “Upfromt too, we could see that the team is struggling because their main marksman Peter Shalulile, either through poor form or lack of fitness, was not as deadly as he used to be.
“However, that is not to undermine the Tunisians for their tactical genious in neutralizing Sundowns’ game plan. I guess they truly deserve their victory and congratulations to them,” Ajao said.
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