Mamelodi Sundowns Head Coach Johan Neeskens has praised the fighting spirit of his players following a hard grind against an uncompromising Jomo Cosmos, which ended in a 0-0 draw at Loftus Versveld Stadium.

“I still think we should have won the match because we created opportunities,. In football you don’t win if you don’t score t but I will compliment my players because they fought and worked hard for the full 90 minutes. I’m happy with the performance of my team and I must also give credit to the opponent’s goalkeeper. No one deserved the man of the match award more than he did”, he said, referring to Avril Phali who stood between Sundowns and the three points on the day.

‘The Brazilians’ still sit on top of the ABSA Premiership league table but the draw sees the lead reduced to three points. Sundowns have collected 35 points from 17 matches, with the No 2 and three both tied on 32 points from the same number of matches.

“I’m very proud of my players and I will not make any drastic changes to the striking force just because we didn’t score today.(Sunday). You can’t blame one or two players when things don’t go your way because it’s the whole team’s responsibility to score goals. I respect my players and I have confidence in their abilities.

Neeskens also shared his delight at the level of competitiveness within Sundowns’ current squad, adding that the competition keeps all the players on their toes. “I love it when the level of quality is this high within the team because it allows me to make my own decisions. It is always easy for me when the competition is this tight. It keeps everybody awake and eager to fight for a place in the team,” the coach explained.

He stressed that the league is a marathon and not a sprint, telling the media that leading the log halfway through the season matters less, but finishing on top of the table in May when the season ends will matter the most.

“Being No 1 at the end of May is more important, which is why we will try and get as many points as possible and take it a game at a time,” concluded Neeskens.