Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena was pleased to secure a crucial away goal during their 1-1 draw with Golden Arrows at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday.

Nqobeko Dlamini opened the scoring for Arrows after just six minutes when he found the bottom corner before Pavol Safranko level matters in the 85th minute to grab his first goal for Sundowns.

Sundowns will now take an away goal advantage into the second leg when the two teams square off at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on 28 September 2021.

Mokwena praised his side’s character to fight until the end and secure a crucial away goal in the first leg.

“Difficult game against a very good side,” Mokwena told SuperSport TV after the game.

“A wounded side that lost against SuperSport. Good resilience from our team. Very good fight. Very good character and very important not to lose because it allows us to keep going and prepare for the second leg.”

Mokwena went on to explain his second-half substitutions while almost bemoaning the weather conditions that prevented them from playing their style of football.

“We changed things a little bit,” he added.

“We went with Kutumela and Pavol. We tried to change the structure slightly. It allowed us to keep them. Also the conditions didn’t help much. We don’t want to make excuses. We are a passing team. When you play against the wind, especially in the first-half, your build ups are a little bit compromised.

“We got the equaliser and the away goal, which is very important and extremely crucial.”