At Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday, Richards Bay defeated AmaZulu 1-0 and moved up to second place in the Premiership rankings thanks to an injury-time winner.
The Natal Rich Boyz triumphed because to AmaZulu goalie Veli Mothwa’s unlucky last touch, which allowed the visitors to earn their fifth victory of the year.
Prior to the challenging match against Richards Bay, a much weakened AmaZulu squad rang the changes as coach Brandon Truter was left without some of his most reliable players due to injuries and suspensions.
Truter made a forlorn face after their MTN8 semi-final match against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday when he learnt he would have to do without his team’s main scorer Gabadinho Mhango as well as the impact of Keagan Buchanan and Makhehleni Makhaula.
For the first time this season, the hosts set up in a 3-5-2 system in an effort to accommodate their six substitutions and stop Richards Bay’s lethal wing play.
In a hotly fought first half, the visitors seemed the most likely to score, although not being completely in control.
Luvuyo Memela was at the heart of everything great about Richards Bay, setting up Sanele Barns for the game’s first significant chance. This was his first visit back to Moses Mabhida Stadium after his unexpected departure from AmaZulu.
Memela skillfully placed the former University of Pretoria player through on goal, but Mothwa superbly stopped his well-hit shot five minutes before halftime.
Pitso Dladla, the coach of Richarbs Bay, would have been happy with his team’s performance in the first half as they challenged the pregame favorites Amaulu. In the first half, Richards Bay made seven efforts at goal, four of which were successful.
At the midway stage of this game, AmaZulu would have been reminded of their goals since they might have moved up to fourth on the log if things went their way.
Even though Truter’s squad came out of the tunnel at halftime looking quite different, it was the guests who opened the second half with another fantastic chance.
Memela was once again in the heart of things, and in the 50th minute his sidefooted attempt rattled Mothwa’s crossbar and bounced away from danger.
At the start of the season, Richards Bay could only have dreamed of being within two points of Mamelodi Sundowns’ lead in the standings after nine games, and it showed as they played with confidence.