Miguel Cardoso defends Sundowns 'most criticized' player

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has come to the defense of winger Tashreeq Matthews, whom he believes is one of the club's most criticized players.

The Portuguese tactician has often come under scrutiny from a section of the Masandawana faithful over his selection of the 25-year-old attacker in the starting XI, with some supporters claiming favouritism.

Cardoso, however, justified his decision to consistently rely on Matthews after the player scored and provided two assists in the 5-2 demolition of AmaZulu FC in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday night.

“Tashreeq is one of the most criticized players in this club, but he's doing things well. Tashreeq grew throughout the season. I'm not father of Tashreeq as people say, no, I deal with performances,” said the Downs mentor.

"He was consistent on showing in training sessions that he deserves to play, and he played. When he doesn't show it he stays out, last match [vs Golden Arrows] he stayed out because he was not strong enough during the preparation.

"Now he came back, maybe he's fresher and that's why he performed because fatigue obviously touches the capacity to produce stable behaviours. And I also think Tashreeq is too criticized because sometimes he wants to do well.

The Sundowns boss acknowledges Matthews' lack of cutting edge previously cost the team in the biggest stages, but urged the club's supporters to refrain from criticizing the players, instead advocating for a united front.

“I know that in the Club World Cup there was a goal he could have scored, in the final against Pyramids there's a goal he could have scored, yes there was,” Cardoso added.

"The question is not the ones he didn't score, it's the ones he scored after he failed. I gave an embrace to Mali [Khoza] when the match finished today [Wednesday], and I told him it's important how you react after you fail, that speaks for you, not the mistakes you did.

"You obviously have to avoid the mistake and grow from there, but how you show your character [matters more], and he finished the match continuously playing the way he had to play and this is how we need to support our players.

"If myself, or I allow my coaches, or I allow my club, or I allow our fans to criticize our own players - we cannot. We need to support because they are the ones we have and the ones we have are the most important players for us and for us they are the best in the world.

Sundowns, meanwhile, swing back to action with the return leg of their MTN8 semi-final clash against Golden Arrows at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Hlayisani Magoro

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Football journalist from South Africa covering African football news, exclusive stories and key events while sharing insights with passionate fans of the game.

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