Rayners warns Sundowns ahead refreshed Arrows test in Carling Cup quarterfinal
Iqraam Rayners knows Golden Arrows are no pushovers, and he is demanding a fast start when the sides meet at Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday night.
Sundowns host Abafana Bes’thende in the Carling Knockout quarterfinals, chasing a place in the last four and another piece of domestic silverware.
The Tshwane giants arrive in good form, with back-to-back wins across all competitions, but the striker says knockout football is a different animal.
“Knockout games are always difficult to play because you don’t know what to expect from the other team,” Rayners told the club’s media team.
“But we know how to win games like this, especially when it becomes difficult. Our coaches will analyse the game to give us feedback and information about Golden Arrows.”
The two sides are well acquainted. They have already met three times this season, with Sundowns winning two and Arrows one. The most dramatic meeting came in the MTN8 semi-finals, when the tie finished 3-3 on aggregate and Masandawana went through to the final on away goals. Their latest league meeting, in September, finished 2-1 to Sundowns.
Arrows are also under new management. Mandla Ncikazi returned as head coach after leaving Orlando Pirates, and he will be eager to make an impression.
Rayners wants to avoid another nail-biter.
“I hope we will advance to the semi-finals. For us as a team, we always try to get opportunities against Arrows,” he said.
“But we just had to make sure we punish them as early as possible. Once we score first, then we know the game will open up.”
Sundowns are still reeling from their Champions League exit, and the Carling Cup is their next shot at silverware. Arrows have shown before that they will not make it easy.
