Mamelodi Sundowns defender Divine Lunga addresses the media ahead of the CAF Champions League first-leg final in Pretoria on Thursday.
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For a champion club like Mamelodi Sundowns to concede seven goals in their last two Betway Premiership matches is akin to a disaster.
They may even pay the ultimate price for their defensive blowouts by surrendering their league title to Orlando Pirates, with the Buccaneers requiring only three points from their final two matches to be crowned champions for the first time in 14 years.
Equally, it is not the type of form and confidence Sundowns will want to be taking into the all-important first leg of their CAF Champions League final against AS FAR at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday (4pm start).
There are a variety of factors for the sudden catastrophe at the back, and they relate mostly to the horrific injury star central defender Keanu Cupido suffered against Kaizer Chiefs last week.
Cupido had been the in-form defender in the Betway Premiership and was pushing for a place in Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana World Cup squad before he fell victim to a dangerous challenge from Amakhosi's Siphesihle.
Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso’s initial prognosis was that Cupido had broken his arm and that he would be ruled out for the remainder of the season, but there have been positive reports emerging from Chloorkop that the former Cape Town City defender was back in training.
Cardoso would be taking a major gamble to risk a half-fit Cupido in such a high-profile final, with the Portuguese tactician possibly being forced to field another makeshift central-defensive pairing of Kegan Johannes and Khulumani Ndamane due to Grant Kekana also being suspended for the first leg in Pretoria.
Johannes has only played 12 minutes in the Champions League this season, while Ndamane has been guilty of a number of individual errors recently.
Sundowns’ left-back Divine Lunga, however, has the greatest confidence that whichever central pairing Cardoso decides on will get the job done against the Moroccans.
“I know it's not a good thing for such a big team how we've been conceding. But we're working on it. We'll try to pull out our A-game and try to defend more and not concede,” Lunga said at Sundowns’ media day on Thursday.
“All I can say is that here at Sundowns, there are so many good players that anyone can fit in at any time. So I think whoever the coach is going to choose on that day, I always trust that everyone is going to pull out their A-game so that we can help the team to win. It's not ideal.
“We have to do our best. Then we'll try to be strong in this game. It's a Champions League game; it's not just a game.
“It's a CAF final and it's a Champions League. We have to pull out our A-game and do our best in defending as defenders.”
The Zimbabwean international also stressed that Sundowns are not just playing for themselves, but for all of South Africa, as no local team has won the premier continental competition since the Brazilians last raised the trophy exactly a decade ago under the legendary Pitso Mosimane.
“It's been hard for us when you play Cup games. But this time we are turning things around. We are going to do our best to try and bring the trophy home because it's been a decade now.
“As a player, my wish is to win the Champions League because it's been hitting us, playing semis and then going to the final, and then we don't get anything. But this time around I think we have to turn it around and bring the trophy home. And it's going to be a good thing.
“I think it's going to be a good thing here in South Africa. And even us, the foreign players, the people at home, they've been wishing us good things. We are not doing it maybe for Sundowns only. We are doing it for South Africa.”