Cape Town – The contrasting form of the two clubs suggests beleaguered Swallows are in for a right royal pasting against dominant Mamelodi Sundowns in their DStv Premiership match at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday evening.
The clueless Swallows were blown off the park on their Dobsonville patch during their midweek MTN8 encounter by a very ordinary Cape Town City side who cantered to a 4-0 whitewash.
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Swallows were campaigning without head coach Brandon ‘Brakkies’ Truter, who had incurred the wrath of management because of the team's winless streak of late. Swallows had announced that Truter was on "special leave", and assistant coach Simon Dladla was handed the reins.
In their previous Premiership match, Swallows also went down on home turf after visiting SuperSport United hammered them 3-0. It is a month ago that Swallows last scored in any of the PSL's competitions.
There are no such concerns for high-riding Sundowns, who are on a Premiership three-match unbeaten streak. During this period, they scored seven goals without conceding. In a midweek MTN8 clash, Sundowns trounced hapless Lamontville Golden Arrows 3-0.
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Against this background, the Cape Town-born central defender Rushine de Reuck has urged his Sundowns teammates to read too much in Swallows woeful form. De Reuck has been one of the team's stand-out players with regular workmanlike performances this season.
“Swallows are a very structured team. They are difficult to play against, and they keep many clean sheets," said De Reuck. "We need to try and break them down.
"We cannot be looking at that midweek result because it was a cup game. This time it is a league game, and it is different.
"It is very important to go into the FIFA break (next week) with that winning feeling.
Goal of the Day 🥅@Erasmus_95 made no mistake to open the scoring the last time we hosted Swallows FC! 🎯#Sundowns #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/DOw4J8RFoH
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) October 2, 2021
“We pride ourselves in our defence, and everyone is playing well after a great team effort.
"We know what is expected from us because we play for a big club and that if we keep clean sheets, chances of winning are higher.
"It is not only defenders and goalkeepers who are doing the work, but everyone is pulling their weight, and we must give credit to the whole team."
Swallows are in 12th place on the standings and another defeat will land them in the relegation zone.
@Herman_Gibbs