Medeama To Miss Star Player In Sundowns Return Encounter

Medeama SC, wing wizard, Samuel Bio will miss his side’s CAF Confederations Cup Play-off second leg tie against Mamelodi Sundowns due to suspension.

The highly rated midfield sensation picked up an accumulated yellow card in the first leg and will thus miss the return encounter at the Sekondi stadium on May 18.

The absence of the diminutive winger will come as a big blow to the Ghanaian Premier League side in their quest to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg in South Africa.

Samuel Bio was Medeama’s best player when the two-time Ghanaian champions conceded three goals in a spate of seven minutes to lose 3-1 against the newly-crowned South African champions last weekend.

Medeama are desperate to qualify to the group stage of the competition after missing out at the same stage two years ago.

Medeama To Miss Star Player In Sundowns Return Encounter

Strand Attributes Sundowns Collapse To Fatigue

Medeama SC Coach, Tom Strand attributed his side’s defensive frailties which led to their 3-1 defeat against South African side Mamelodi Sundowns to fatigue.

The Ghanaian side were  1-0 up until the 81st minute, but three goals in six minutes from Leonardo , Khama Billiat and Cuthbert Malajila turned the tie on its head.

And speaking to reporters after the game, Swedish Trainer Strand, said the defeat was a painful one.

“It was very painful to see this happening in the last minutes but still I think we played a very good game today”, he said

“Unfortunately we got a little bit tired and got out of our positions and let Mamelodi get too much space to play in and they came back into the game.

“We shouldn’t have let them come back into the game but it happened today, and it’s football, it happens”, Tom Strand added.

However, the young tactician also opined that fatigue and playing at altitude was a contributor to their demise.

“It felt like we got really tired in the last ten minutes and we started to play in a different way that I don’t want to play, so we’ll work on that”, Strand said

Strand Attributes Sundowns Collapse To Fatigue

Mamelodi Sundowns Ready for Medeama Test - Kekana

Hlompho Kekana feels Mamelodi Sundowns can gain much-needed continental experience from the CAF Confederation Cup regardless of its second-tier status.

After being crowned Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions, Sundowns will host Ghanaian club Medeama SC in the first leg of their play-off round at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday (18h00/6pm CAT), with the return leg scheduled for May 17-18 in Sekondi.

The aggregate winners proceed to the group stages draw, taking place on May 24.

For all the belittlement that this competition gets with some labeling it as a trivial consolation of the real deal – the Champions League – Kekana believes it is a worthy cause that keeps their dream of seeking silverware in Africa alive.

“As players we want to play in competitions where there are big teams, where there is competition. You need to test yourself with the big guns,” reckons Kekana.

And true to Kekana’s word there are plenty of big guns in this competition – Esperance de Tunis, Etoile du Sahel, TP Mazembe and Al-Merrikh are all teams that are still considered powerhouses on the continent despite being in the ‘shadow competition’ this year.

“This is what we do as Mamelodi Sundowns. We want to apply ourselves in every match and try to win matches. It is a good feeling to win matches and for us to go to Africa every now and then is a lesson that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. I personally love to go to

those places and try to see how far I am in terms of the character that I have.”

“I am going to be a father one day so I need to be a tough man. These are games that we still need to play to gauge how far we can compete on the continent so there is absolutely no way we will be looking down on this competition,” said Kekana.

Mamelodi Sundowns Ready for Medeama Test - Kekana