Former Mamelodi Sundowns star Brent Carelse was left impressed with the approach of the club's new head coach Manqoba Mngqithi against Polokwane City over the weekend.
Sundowns needed an own goal in extra time to beat the Limpopo-based side 1-0 in the MTN8 quarterfinal match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday.
READ: Wydad make contact with Bafana star
It was a hard-fought win against a team that intentionally played a low block, hoping to catch their more illustrious opponents on transition. The home team also suffered the misfortune of a red card to goalkeeper Denis Onyango in the dying embers of the match.
Carelse says there were a lot of positives in The Brazilians' way of playing compared to last season.
"They created so many chances I can't even remember how many they had," Carelse tells KickOff.
"I was impressed with the first game of Manqoba Mngqithi. Of course, I knew it was going to be difficult. Polokwane City did very well, they had a very good game.
"But I was impressed with the number of chances Sundowns managed to create, and [the] shots on target were quite high [in number].
"People are saying it's no longer the same, it changed, but I don't think it changed that much. I think there are more entries into the box, and chances created are much more than before," he adds.
Mngqithi has spoken about hos he is going to be employing a fast brand of football as opposed to possession football, in an effort to get to the opposition box as soon as possible, something Carelse admits was evident against Rise and Shine.
"The slow build-ups ups are still there, but not as much they they used to be. I think they go there a little bit more directly now, which is a little bit more exciting. I enjoyed it a lot.
READ: CALLING ALL JOZI FOOTIE FANS!
"I think Manqoba wants more killer instinct. I like the fact that they want to finish off the opposition. There was a point where Sundowns used to do this."
The Tshwane giants will host Stellenbosch FC in the two-legged semi-final of the competition at a date still to be confirmed.