‘I won’t gloat’, says Manqoba Mngqithi after handing Mamelodi Sundowns first defeat of the season

Golden Arrows handed Mamelodi Sundowns their first defeat of the Betway Premiership season in Umlazi, as Sede Dion’s first-half header sealed a win at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday.

The victory ended a run of three consecutive losses for Arrows and lifted them back towards mid-table, though they remain on just 10 points from their opening eight matches. 

Against the champions, however, they showed a level of organisation and cutting edge that has often been missing.

“With beating Sundowns, I don’t look at it as beating my former team,” Mngqithi said after the match. 

“It would feel wrong to gloat about beating Sundowns, as this team has done so much for me and my family, and I will always be grateful to this club. I never have feelings of thinking I’m better or what (just because I won against them).”

It was a measured response from the Arrows boss, who worked at Chloorkop for years and won several titles with Sundowns. 

For all the significance of the result, Mngqithi preferred to focus on the bigger picture — both for his current team and his former employers.

Sundowns looked a step off the pace in Umlazi, but Mngqithi argued this was more down to circumstance than decline.

“This is a powerful team, I hear people saying this season is going to be something different. In my opinion, this team is still very strong and it’s only a matter of time,” he said. 

“Remember they did not have a proper pre-season and we’re still capitalising on that so in the first 10 matches you can expect them not to be in sync and their participation in the Club World Cup took its toll.”

The remarks underline Mngqithi’s refusal to buy into the suggestion that Sundowns are faltering. 

His insistence that “class is permanent” was as much a reminder to critics as it was praise for a side he still clearly respects.

For Arrows, though, the challenge remains to be consistency. They have shown flashes of quality this season but have also been plagued by a lack of goals and costly defensive lapses. 

Dion’s fourth strike of the campaign gave them a much-needed boost, yet Mngqithi knows one result does not change the narrative.

Next up is a Betway Premiership fixture against Orbit College, where Arrows will be expected to build on their momentum. Failure to do so would undo much of the good work done against Sundowns.

The win over the champions was significant, but Mngqithi’s reaction summed it up best — it was a scalp to savour, not a season-defining triumph.