Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Romain Folz has praised his players for their resilience following a 1-1 draw against AS FAR in the CAF Champions League in Morocco.
Despite being disappointed not to secure all three points, Folz acknowledged the team's determination and heart in securing the point on the road. He emphasized how Sundowns battled through difficult circumstances, particularly after conceding a second-half goal.
Facing a hostile crowd, the Sundowns players showed great character, pushing forward in search of a winner despite the pressure. Folz was impressed by their ability to weather the storm and continue fighting for the result. While he believes the team should have secured a win, he commended their efforts and fighting spirit in a tough away fixture.
"The first half was quite even on both sides. I believe they defended very well in front of us, denying us a lot of time and space in their half. But our approach of the second-half was better in our occupation of the area in behind their defence. I think our runs were much more aggressive and we must give credit also to Iqraam for a very good finish on his goal," he told Sundowns' media department.
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"We can see the goal that is. I'm having a hard time swallowing that goal because it's a sequence we identified before the game and we knew it was going to happen. But we still conceding that and I think we we're a little bit distracted during that sequence. But overall, I give a lot of good points to the boys because for me the biggest point of that game is the reaction after the goal.
"It's a very difficult context to play here when you concede a goal with 20 minutes to play with the crowd and everything, you could expect that the team is going to push and maybe you suffer for the last 20 minutes, but it was not the case.
"We were the ones pushing to score that second goal. For the last 20 or 25 minutes. So it says a lot, in my opinion, on the resilience and the character of the team, and I believe it's an improvement from recent games where we got equalised and we were not able to react accordingly. So as much as it's difficult to accept that it's only a draw because we feel like there was room to win. We must also say that it's a good point away from home and it solidifies the fact that we are a strong team even in a difficult context, we managed to get something," he added.
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