Mamelodi Sundowns defender Rivaldo Coetzee says he was delighted with his performance after playing his first 90 minutes for the Brazilians.

The 22-year-old was deployed in the midfield alongside side Hlompho Kekana during their 2-1 victory over Black Leopards on Tuesday evening.

The win saw Pitso Mosimane’s side moved level on 53 points with Orlando Pirates at the top of the Absa Premiership standings and two games remaining until the end of the current season.

Coetzee, who was named Man of the Match, says he was happy to contribute to the team’s success in their league encounter which saw them collect all three points away from home.

‘Credit must go to the team, it’s my first full 90 minutes playing in midfield. They helped me a lot,’ Coetzee told SuperSport TV after the game.

‘We knew that coming here will be a tough game. We wanted to score as quick as possible, and we knew they must open up after that.

‘Luckily we got the two-goal cushion, that’s what you need because in the end you saw they pulled a goal back. We were a little under pressure, but from then on I think we managed the game well.’

The former Ajax Cape Town defender went on to say that he needs some time to fully process his new role at the club after starting in midfield for the full 90 minutes in the absence of Tiyani Mabunda.

‘I need a full week to recover, it’s something new. It’s always good to be versatile as a footballer, and I’m just happy I could help the team tonight,’ he added.

‘Starting from today we said that every game from now on is a Cup Final. We’re playing to win every game, from there we’ll see what happens. The best thing is to win all our games and we’ll see [where we end up] at the end of the season.’