Goalkeeper calls on supporters to stand by team through tough times

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams insists there is no need to blame anyone on the team after their disappointing 3-1 defeat to USM Alger in the Caf Super Cup final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday.

That defeat follows their recent exit from the Caf Champions League preliminaries, where they failed to defend their title.

As they reflect on that disappointing run, Williams said they can only learn from it as they aim to bounce back and urged supporters to keep backing them.

“There is no point in pointing fingers now; we need each other. It’s not going to help anyone, and I would urge Masandawana, tough as it is, to stick together, be there for the boys and support us,” Williams told the media.

He said the players will need to pick themselves up and do better as a team, as there are still other trophies to play for.

“Obviously, it is tough. This one will hurt for a very long time. It’s disappointing … [but] we have to reflect as a team on what worked, and we need to get back to that,” he said.

We need to dig deep, and we’ve always done that and risen up again and kept going

—  Ronwen Williams, Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper

“As tough as it is, we need to pick ourselves up. It’s going to be a long season, and we just need to be better as a team, draw strength from one another and keep growing.

“We can’t win them all, but it is disappointing to lose at home in the final. But we will have to regroup and get going.”

Having faced other disappointments in the past, like losing the Champions League final to Pyramids, Williams said they came back stronger and went on to win the title this year.

“You can only learn from these moments; I mean, we’ve got so much in the last few years that we have to learn from it.

“We need to dig deep, and we’ve always done that and risen up again and kept going. Sundowns is a massive team. We need to keep going and congratulate the other team.”