Cape Town - Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has praised his side's second-half performance after a crucial 2-1 victory over Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

The former Bafana Bafana boss firstly highlighted the quality of the opposition before admitting that opposite number Ernst Middendorp was always a tricky customer due to his tactical acumen.

"It was the way it was expected," Mosimane told SuperSport TV. "We played against a difficult opponent, they're credible.

"You could see how they got to our box with small one-twos. But we managed at the end to stop them from going through.

"Anthony [Laffor] scored a great goal. The goal we scored earlier it woke them up. Because after that they took the game to be honest.

"It's a big game, you have to be smart. We came back in the second half, the first half they were more superior."

He continued: "You know coach Middendorp is very awkward, he plays awkward football to be honest. Very good tactician. Not easy to figure him out, but at halftime, we sorted it out. We changed a few things.

"For us it was a relief [to see the] left back [Godfrey Walusimbi] coming out because we had a problem with the two wings-backs and it created a little bit of stress on our wingers to track back.

"But in midfield [Hlompho] Kekana unbelievable with 'Sugar' [Tiyani Mabunda] they have experience, they know how to win the championship. They've been here for a long time.

"Not to be bragging but when we come here [at FNB Stadium] we either draw or win. In June we won a cup here [pre-season trophy]," he concluded.

Sundowns drew first blood on Saturday through Anthony Laffor's third-minute goal, only for Willard Katsande to put Chiefs back on level terms in the 16th minute.

However, it was Lebohang Maboe who had the last say, slotting the ball home on 81 minutes to help Downs claim all three points.