Richards Bay inspiration captain Simphiwe Mcineka says the team is determined to bounce back from their midweek defeat and has earmarked their clash against AmaZulu FC as the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways.
The KwaZulu-Natal side will make the short trip to face their provincial rivals in a Betway Premiership encounter at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday night.
The Natal Rich Boys head into the match following a defeat to league leaders Orlando Pirates, who secured all three points in their meeting at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.
Mcineka, who recently returned from an injury that kept him sidelined for several matches, believes the team showed resilience despite the loss and proved they are capable of competing at the highest level.
“Coming from the Orlando Pirates match, we knew it was not going to be easy,” Mcineka said on the club’s website.
“We showed that we can play beautiful football and showed the country that we are not a small team. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the points we wanted, but the way we played gives us confidence going into the next game against AmaZulu.”
The Richards Bay skipper acknowledged that facing AmaZulu will be another tough challenge, especially with the added intensity of a KwaZulu-Natal derby.
“As you know, against AmaZulu it is a KZN derby, so it will not be an easy game,” he said.
“But I trust the players and the coaches, and I believe we can collect maximum points to make our fans happy, especially after not getting anything from the Pirates match.
“We are calling on our fans to come and support us. Whether they come to the stadium or watch on TV, we ask them to continue backing us because we are going to work extra hard.”
Saturday’s encounter will mark the third meeting between the two sides this season.
Richards Bay won the reverse league fixture 2–0 at the Umhlathuze Sports Complex in November, with goals from Moses Mthembu and Wandile Ngema.
However, AmaZulu gained revenge in February when they knocked their provincial rivals out of the Nedbank Cup in the round of 16, thanks to a winning goal from Hendrick Ekstein at the same venue.
