Mamelodi Sundowns forward Ikraam Rayners warned the Golden Arrows team that they must not afford to waste chances during the Carlin Cup meeting.
The Brazilian team will face Abafana Bes’thende on Tuesday. Rayners expects a difficult confrontation but is confident that Sundowns possess the necessary experience and quality to handle the challenges.
The Bafana Bafana forward believes that knockout football carries a different level of uncertainty, as teams often approach such matches cautiously, trying to throw opponents off balance. Nevertheless, he emphasized that Sundowns know how to win when under pressure.
Rayners stated: 'Knockout games are always difficult because you don't know what to expect from other teams, but as a team, we know how to win these games, especially when it gets tough.'
The striker also pointed to the importance of early goals as a key factor in overcoming the defense of Arrows, which he believes the opponent is capable of creating. Rayners thinks that Sundowns created enough opportunities in previous games against teams like Arrows, but converting these chances will be critical to avoid unnecessarily complicating the match.
He added: 'We always have many opportunities against them, but we just have to make sure to punish them as early as possible, because once we do that, the game will open up, and we will know we will win.'
On Tuesday, there will also be an interesting match with Mandla Ntsikazi, who recently returned to Golden Arrows as head coach after completing a five-year collaboration with Pirates. Rayners acknowledged the quality of the Arrows coach but insisted that Sundowns should focus on executing their own game plan rather than getting distracted by the opponent's approach.
He noted: 'I think their coach is a good coach, especially when teams play against Sundowns, they know how to set themselves up, but we just need to do our job and work hard to win the game and get the result.'
'Sundowns' enter the cup match after a convincing 4-1 victory over Durban City in the Betway Premiership championship. Since a place in the next round is at stake, Rayners and his teammates aim to maintain this momentum in the upcoming Tuesday meeting and prevent Arrows from settling into the game.
