Mokwena praises Sundowns players following Maritzburg thumping

Mamelodi Sundowns beat Maritzburg United 5-0 in what was Rulani Mokwena's first game as sole head coach following the demotion of Manqoba Mngqithi. 

The victory extended the Brazilians' lead at the summit of the DStv Premiership to three points. They also have a game in hand over second-placed Richards Bay. 

Mokwena was delighted by his side's performance in difficult circumstances, with the last few days being a fairly disruptive period for Sundowns following the coaching reshuffle.   

"Congratulations to the boys for a good performance, good energy and good reflection of the team," Mokwena told reporters.  

"We played good football and I must say congratulations to the coaches working very hard behind the scenes to get the boys mentally prepared for a very difficult game, they're (Maritzburg) not an easy side.  

"The score is not always a true reflection of how difficult this game was. And congratulations to the Yellow Nation supporters, they deserve a better feeling than what we gave them on the weekend." 

The emphatic victory over Maritzburg has come during a time without star man Peter Shalulile. With rumours surfacing about the star striker wanting to leave, Mokwena was probed about Shalulile and his recent unavailability. Mokwena reiterated that the player was indeed injured and not forcing himself out the club.

"I said to you he is being attended to by specialists. He has undergone surgery but something that's not too much of a concern. Hopefully we get him back as soon as possible but for sure he is not available until the World Cup break is over.  

"It was a bit of a difficult diagnosis because it's related to sports hernia but not necessarily sports hernia, a little bit complicated and that's why he had to see three