Mamelodi Sundowns striker Cassius Mailula has explained why he was so emotional after the final whistle when his side got eliminated from the CF Champions League by Wydad Athletic Club.
Mailula, 21, has been one of the breakthrough stars of the season, scoring an impressive 15 goals in 31 appearances in his debut campaign.
However, on Saturday, the young talent couldn’t hold back the tears after the final whistle and had to be consoled by several teammates after his side’s 2-2 draw with Wydad Athletic Club which saw Masandawana knocked out of the CAF Champions League.
Mailula admitted he dreamt of lifting the trophy since watching the team of 2016 lift the club’s first CAFCL title, but he also expected the game to go into extra-time before realising CAF actually still uses away goals as tie breaker in their inter-club competition knockout stages.
“I think I was too emotional,” he told Robert Marawa on MSW.
“I knew from day 1 that this is what I want, the dream that I always wanted. [Winning CAFCL] is something that I wanted to achieve.
“I would’ve actually loved to be in the final and win it in my first season with the first team, and actually to lift the trophy with Themba Zwane – Mshishi, because it’s one of the things that I said in 2016, it’s something I want to do one day.
“But I don’t think it’s over. I think I’ve learnt a lot in this competition. It’s one of those days in football where you have to experience such things and to learn.
“I don’t think I’ve lost in that game, I think it was a very expensive experience. You can’t buy this experience. To experience such [pain] it was really terrible and I think it too me time to actually realise we’re actually out.
“Even after the final whistle I thought ‘are we going to extra-time?’ But then someone told me ‘no, it’s away goals’.
“That’s why I was so, so emotional because I believed that if we’re going to extra-time, I thought they didn’t have a chance. But that’s what happened…”
Mailula also admitted that he needed two days to fully come to terms with the news that his dream – at least for this season – was over.
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“It took me 48 hours to accept it after my mother and the coach called me, try to calm me down, I think that’s when I started to realise that such things happen,” he added.
“It has not been easy to be honest, but thanks to the coach [Mokwena] and other coaches who have actually called me to check on me and my teammates and to tell me that ‘it’s not over, such things happen, you’re still young, you still have time to showcase your talent and win more trophies’.”
