Richards Bay co-coach Papi Zothwane believes his side should have been more clinical despite their 1-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs in Tuesday’s Betway Premiership clash at Umhlathuze Sports Complex.
Thulani Gumede scored the decisive goal in the 69th minute, finishing a clinical breakaway by firing past Bruce Bvuma at the near post.
While Bay secured the win, they squandered several opportunities to put the game beyond Chiefs’ reach. Lundi Mahala dragged a shot wide in the first half when well-placed, and his 72nd-minute replacement, Knox Mutizwa, was denied by Bvuma while attempting to round the goalkeeper.
In the dying moments of stoppage time, substitute Wandile Ngema struck the woodwork when he appeared certain to score.
The victory served as sweet revenge for the Natal Rich Boyz, who lost by the same scoreline to Chiefs at FNB Stadium in August. Despite the result, Zothwane lamented his team’s finishing, insisting they must learn to “put teams to the sword.”
“In every game we play, we create chances,” Zothwane said.
“We have to learn. We are dealing with young players in a big league; if you don’t take your chances, you will be punished. Today [Tuesday] was the same story—we could have won by many more goals. But we appreciate what we got: the goal, the three points, and the ability to move forward.”
The win lifts the Natal Rich Boyz to ninth in the table with 23 points from 19 matches—meeting the specific target Zothwane set before kickoff.
“We are happy with the points, but not entirely satisfied with the performance, especially in the first half,” Zothwane added.
“We turned the ball over too often and struggled to create opportunities. We addressed that at halftime, focusing on better ball retention. The players did exceptionally well following those instructions in a much-improved second half.”
The KwaZulu-Natal club will now look to complete a famous double over the Soweto giants when they visit log-leaders Orlando Pirates at Orlando Amstel Arena on 11 March.
