Sundowns lost 2-1 to Edo Queens in the last group stage match on Saturday. And as such, they finished third Group B with just three points.
This follows after they lost to Queens and Masar before winning their only game against Central Bank of Ethiopia in the second round.
Having lost to debutants Masar of Egypt in the opening round that put the outgoing champions on the back foot as they needed to win both games thereafter. But it wasn’t to be.
So Tshabalala, speaking at the post-match press conference after the loss to Queens on Saturday, believes that his troops didn’t pitch from the onset.
“To be honest, I don’t think we showed any hunger to say we want this more,” a disappointed Tshabalala lamented.
“If you come to the tournament and you start on a negative (note) it becomes difficult to bounce back, but we tried to show character to bounce back in the second game.
“In the third game it wasn’t to be, the players gave it their all, but we didn’t defend nicely as a team. Defensively we were a little bit poor.”
Sundowns are the most successful team in the continental showpiece, having won the tournament twice after four attempts.
However, it appears that this season’s outing wasn’t going to yield the required results for them as fatigue clearly took its toll on the players.
Banyana Ba Style have just defended their Hollywoodbets Super League on a domestic front, while most of their key players were away with Banyana Banyana in their tour of Europe last month.
And that’s not all. The team had to juggle their hectic schedule with their invite to the America Cup which hosted some of the best teams around the world.
Of course, it’s a norm that heavy is the head which carries the crown, but Tshabalala also concedes that a lot didn’t go their way from the onset.
“But I don’t want to bash my girls, they gave it their all in today’s game. We even had a penalty against us and Andile (Dlamini) did well to save the penalty,” Tshabalala said.
“We also went on a one-and-one with the goalkeeper and hit the crossbar. So, I just think it wasn't for us today.”
☹️ 𝔻𝕀𝕊𝕊𝔸ℙ𝕆𝕀ℕ𝕋𝔼𝔻 ☹️
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) November 17, 2024
🗣️ "𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨"
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Jerry Tshabalala reacting to their exit from the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.#SABCSportFootball #CAFWCL2024 pic.twitter.com/I8ynIPrAz8
Sundowns left north Africa with their heads held high, though, as Tshabalala believes that they’ve gained invaluable lessons even though things don’t go their way in Morocco.
“I don't know whether it’s an omen but whenever we are here in Morocco, we just can’t defend our title,” Tshabalala explained.
“But the key lesson learnt from the tournament is that from the onset we need to take the tournament seriously. We need to be aggressive in how we approach our games.
“A tournament is different from a league game. You’ve only got one chance to win, you then need to make it count. If you don’t make it count, then you are putting yourself under huge pressure.”