Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane heaped praise on Maritzburg United mentor Fadlu Davids following his side’s ‘exceptional’ performance on Wednesday.

The Brazilians maintained their position at the summit of the Absa Premiership table after claiming a 1-0 victory over Maritzburg United, courtesy of a 64th minute goal by Percy Tau.

Mosimane hails Fadlu Davids’ men for putting up a tough fight while also reserving special praise for Man of the Match Tau.

‘What a game hey, what a difficult game. It came as expected hey. Maritzburg is a very good team. Fadlu [Davids] is doing exceptionally well,’ Mosimane told SuperSport TV after the game.

‘We were sweating, we survived. We needed experience. We had to put defenders to rob the result. They have the speed, the young [Siphesihle] Ndlovu, number 8, is unbelievable. He always punched holes in our defence but we had the experience so we survived.

‘I’m so happy with Percy with the goal he scored. We have been telling him to go into his left. He was always coming to the left and passing but [this time] he hit it, it’s unbelievable.’

Sundowns has not suffered a defeat in the last six PSL games and only conceded once since falling to a 1-0 defeat against Chippa United on 29 November.

‘It’s their style, they’re good at it and they will hurt people, especially when they are playing away. They have a unique way of putting their three attackers upfront,’ he added.

‘When you do match analysis it’s very difficult if you see the way they put their attackers.

‘But I’m so happy that we dealt with the set-pieces because they are gladiators. I had to put Anele [Ngcongca] and Wayne [Arendse] [late on] to deal with the crosses and set-pieces. It was a big win for us. This [was] a big game.’

Mamelodi Sundowns will be hoping to extend their winning run when they welcome Bloemfontein Celtic to Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off set for 15:30.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix