Young defenders look to Cupido in Champions League push

Mamelodi Sundowns will be without Grant Kekana in theCAF Champions League semifinalreturn leg against Esperance at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday, so defender Keanu Cupido has embraced the role of guiding Khulumani Ndamane and Kegan Johannes at the heart of defence. Kekana was sent off in the second half in the first leg, and this leaves Cupido as the most experienced player ahead of Ndamane and Johannes. Cupido feels they are not experienced enough at this stage of the tournament and wants to take responsibility and guide them.

“It’s a big blow,” he said. “Grant has had the experience for years now. He helped us a lot.

Also, we have Ndamane, a very young and good player. Kegan is there as well, so we know they can fill Grant’s shoes, but also leading into that, they will need my help because they are not experienced at this stage of the tournament. “But we’ve been doing well rotating the centre-back.

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Each one got the opportunity, and I think they took it with both hands, and now there is an opportunity for one of them to take the spot.” After losing to Pyramids in the final last season, the 25-year-old said there are lessons they took from that defeat as they look to go all the way and clinch the title for the first time since 2016. “I think it’s very big for any player in the country to win the Champions League, and everyone dreams of winning that — and playing for a big club like Sundowns is a big opportunity for everyone to actually show our quality,” he said. “Last season, we were very close.

This term we have another opportunity. We learnt from last season going into this semifinal as well.” Before they think of going all the way and winning the title, Cupido said they will need to work hard, asEsperancewill be throwing everything at them. “We know it is not going to be an easy game, especially for them, needing to get a goal also.

We feel like we have one foot in, but we also know it is not easy. We have to work hard as a team, and we should not think about the previous game. “It’s a new game for us, so we want to win this match.”

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