Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy has revealed what he told defender Kwanda Mngonyama prior to his introduction in the MTN8 victory against Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend.

Taariq Fielies netted the only goal of the game to give the Citizens the advantage heading into the all-important second leg of the semi-final clash in Tshwane this weekend.

McCarthy replaced Ivorian defender Kouassi Kouadja with former Sundowns defender Mngonyama at half-time at the Cape Town Stadium and revealed his words of wisdom to the former Maritzburg United man.

‘Kwanda has been up for it, I think he had an apple to peel with Sundowns,’ he said in a post-match conference.

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‘So in training this whole week, he has been buzzing and I was pretty tempted to start him but then I thought you know what, our back four and back five, they have done well, I don’t want to change the whole shape of the game, I will introduce him in the second half.

‘I felt like Kouassi was a little bit off, he was giving balls away and I just felt like half-time was the right moment to give Kwanda a shot and I said to him, if he doesn’t come good, I am sending him back on a free to Sundowns. So he played the way I am expecting him to play,’ he added.

The Bafana Bafana legend also reflected on the first leg of the clash, suggesting that the scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of the game.

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‘I think for the people who paid money to come to watch two good footballing teams come and play football, I think the 1-0 scoreline doesn’t reflect the excitement the game had.

‘I still feel like we let them a little off the hook but overall, I am happy with the effort, attitude and mentality,’ he concluded.

The two sides resume their rivalry when they do duty at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday with kick-off set for 3pm.

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