Miguel Cardoso praises Milford FC's football after Sundowns victory

The Brazilians secured all three points in their Betway Premiership clash, taking their tally to 13 points from five matches and keeping pace with early league leaders Orlando Pirates.

However, Cardoso was quick to acknowledge Milford's quality, insisting their impressive performances should come as no surprise to those who followed their remarkable Nedbank Cup campaign last season.

The KwaZulu-Natal outfit reached the semi-finals of the competition after eliminating established Premiership opposition, including Sekhukhune United and Orlando Pirates.

"As we expected, only for people who maybe are not paying attention to South African football, [they] are surprised about the quality of this team that we played against, Milford," Cardoso told SuperSport after the match.

"Last year, they not only made promotion to the PSL, but also who they beat on their way to the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.

"They beat Sekhukhune, Orlando Pirates. This is a team that plays very good football, and we should be happy because South Africa understood that it's possible to play beautiful football. I'm very happy that we won the game."

Cardoso admitted Sundowns had to work hard to find their rhythm after making several changes to his starting line-up.

"We knew what team and kind of football we had to play against. When you make so many changes, obviously the team has to find some connections that we look for during all the first half, and just with the substitutions we settled down," he added.

The Portuguese tactician was pleased with the commitment shown by his players, while also crediting Milford for making the encounter competitive.

"Obviously, the goals give credit and justify our victory. I think well done to the boys, the way they were committed, but brave. Very good match from both sides. Finally, finally, finally, bravo."

Sundowns will now turn their attention to their next league assignment when they face Golden Arrows on Sunday afternoon.