Chippa United coach Dan Malesela says his side were very cautious in their approach against Mamelodi Sundowns following their 1-1 draw at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Tuesday.

READ: Chippa hold Sundowns in the rain

Sundowns defender Wayne Arendse opened the scoring in the 18th minute before Chippa striker Rhulani Manzini converted a penalty in the 36th minute after Arendse fouled Buyani Sali in the area.

The 51-year-old believes the Chilli Boys were cautious in their approach the match but he insists that an early change could have change the complexion of the match.

‘Like I said before, it is going to be a very tight game, we shouldn’t be careless because there are two sides playing high-quality football, so if one scores, you might be at risk of losing the game,’ Malesela said after the match

‘So we were very cautious in our approach, but at the same time every chance we get we wanted to attack, which was evident you know, a bit later in the game.

‘Maybe the changes in the game were slightly late, could have done them a bit earlier and helped us you know, but that’s fine.’

Malesela admits that he introduce Linda Shiba in the 84th minute to add more ‘pace’ to his side’s attack going forward and also showed his appreciation towards the ‘electrifying atmosphere’ at the stadium.

‘Pace. Everybody is tired because of the condition of the field and I said [to Shiba] just use your pace. He’s got skills,’ He added.

‘He played on the weekend in the MDC and we could see what he could do. So we thought one of those magic moments can come and he can score a goal from there, but not today.

‘But the biggest thing I appreciate here is the atmosphere… electrifying. Unfortunately, the pitch did not match that you know. If the pitch matched the quality of the players on the field we’d be talking something differently probably.’

Chippa United will next travel to the Dr Molemela Stadium when they take on Bloemfontein Celtic in the Absa Premiership on Sunday.

Kick-off has been scheduled for 15:30.