Richards Bay co-coach Papi Zothwane has warned that they will not roll out the red carpet for high-flying Orlando Pirates when the two sides meet at Umhlathuze Sports Complex on Friday night.
Bay ended a three-match winless run with a 2-1 victory over Stellenbosch at the same venue on Tuesday.
They secured the win through goals from Sanele Barns—on loan from Stellenbosch—and a penalty by Moses Mthembu. Stellenbosch had briefly levelled matters through Genino before the KwaZulu-Natal side regained control to claim all three points.
The result provided a timely confidence boost ahead of their clash with Pirates, who thrashed Golden Arrows 5-0 at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday.
Pirates, currently second on the log with 54 points from 23 matches—just two behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns—have been in prolific form, scoring 11 goals in their last two outings, including a 6-0 demolition of TS Galaxy before the FIFA break.
As a result, Friday’s match at Umhlathuze Sports Complex is expected to be played in front of a sold-out crowd.
Reflecting on the win over Stellenbosch, Zothwane was pleased with his side’s performance, which lifted them to 11th place with 26 points from 23 matches.
“In terms of the overall performance, I think our team did exceptionally well,” said Zothwane.
Impressively, Richards Bay have lost just once at home in the league this season since Umhlathuze Sports Complex reopened after meeting strict PSL requirements following renovations that began in August 2021.
That strong home record gives Zothwane confidence ahead of the challenge.
“It is going to be a difficult game since they are chasing the league title. For us, every time we play at home, it is not easy to beat us,” he said.
“They should not come here thinking they will win easily. It is going to be a tough game, and we will be ready.”
This will be the third meeting between the two sides this season. Pirates won 2-0 in the reverse league fixture in March and also edged Richards Bay 1-0 in the Carling Knockout semi-final, played at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
