Sundowns still hold the aces in the title race as they trail leaders Orlando Pirates by a single point, but have a game in hand.
However, a 1-1 draw with Stellenbosch FC last Wednesday, a game in which they led, and Sunday’s draw at Richards Bay is a setback.
The last time they failed to win in back-to-back league games was at the end of the 2023/24 season, when their final two results were a 1-1 draw at TS Galaxy and a 1-0 loss to Cape Town City.
It is therefore the first time Cardoso has not won in two league matches, and he will be desperate not to make it three when Sundowns go to Polokwane City on Wednesday as the Betway Premiership matches come thick and fast.
The last time the team failed to win in three games in a row was in April 2023, with draws against Cape Town City, Moroka Swallows and Lamontville Golden Arrows.
Cardoso has been in charge of 46 games in the Betway Premiership and won 35 of those, to go with eight draws and three defeats.
It was also only the fourth time in those 46 games that Sundowns have been kept scoreless.
It will be more frustrating in that Sundowns had won all 10 previous meetings with Richards Bay, the first time ever they have dropped points against them.
“Difficult match as expected, what we saw on the pitch, a lot of duels, very difficult pitch to play, we knew that other teams were not able to win here for some reason,” Cardoso told SuperSport.
“This team of Richards Bay is a team that fight, it’s not the way they play because they don’t play, but they are aggressive on the transition especially on the moments when we need to put everything to trying to get the points.
“We didn’t score here and there and then of course we took the responsibility of trying to shift the victory in the last stages and we exposed ourselves."