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'Why they are special' - Mamelodi Sundowns' Coetzee, Domingo earn Mokwena's praise
The two were part of the team that fought and ensured the champions started their title defence with a win at home
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has praised Rivaldo Coetzee and Haashim Domingo for their performance against AmaZulu on Friday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Coetzee was named man of the match for an outstanding performance in the Premier Soccer League opener which the Brazilians ended up winning 1-0.
"Rivaldo has worked extremely hard to make sure that he is fit and that he stays injury-free so that he can play more games and contribute to the success of this team," Mokwena told the club's website.
"He is a very important player for us, we are just happy that he got his performance to be slightly better than what it was against Kaizer Chiefs.
"He is a special talent, a special human being who also works hard and is extremely honest and extremely intelligent too.
"He has a very good football brain too and I think we get to see that every single day in video sessions and in meetings."
Domingo was also a prominent figure during the league encounter against last season's runners-up and Mokwena pinpointed some of his best traits.
"Haashim’s job is just to continue with the work that he is doing," added the coach. "He's got a very good head on his shoulders, he’s got a very good base with regards to his development and, from a technical perspective, that allows him to have a technically rich profile.
"He has shown that he's got qualities to play here. He has just had to work on a few mental issues and not put too much pressure on himself and try to control the levels of anxiety, because if he does that he has shown that he's got so much quality and he gives so much for us particularly now that we are without Lebohang Maboe."
The South African tactician, however, was not impressed by the manner in which his side coordinated their attack against Benni McCarthy's Usuthu.
"We don’t complete our attacks and facilitate shots at goal because that’s how you win football matches, to have such a dominant performance with so much possession, creating so many possibilities to have goals and only have one shot at goal is probably something that leaves a sour taste in our mouth," he said.
On Tuesday, Masandawana will be up against Chippa United for their second matchday action at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
