Durban City seek first goal as Richards Bay derby follows Golden Arrows draw

Durban City assistant coach Musa Nyatama has urged his players to become more clinical in front of goal as they prepare for a second KwaZulu-Natal derby in four days, with Richards Bay visiting Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday night (20:00 kick-off).

City have not scored in any of their first three matches of the season. They began their Betway Premiership campaign with a 1-0 defeat by Sekhukhune United, then suffered the same scoreline against Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 before being held to a goalless draw by Lamontville Golden Arrows in Wednesday’s league derby.

Despite that difficult start, Nyatama says City’s performances have offered encouragement and believes the key now is to convert their chances into victories.

“I think we are playing well, everything is fine. We just need to improve in the final third,” Nyatama said. “That’s something that we are working on, especially the final third. We need to get ourselves ready to score those goals so that we win games and get the maximum points.”

City had the stronger of the second-half exchanges against Golden Arrows but could not find a way past goalkeeper Edward Maova, who produced an inspired display to preserve his clean sheet.

The point kept City without a league win or a league goal this season. However, Nyatama said the squad’s attitude remained positive despite being forced to prepare for another demanding local derby with only a short recovery period.

“It’s a very difficult one, but positively at least we got one point from the previous derby,” he said. “We have to get maximum points against Richards Bay.”

Richards Bay, known as the Natal Rich Boys, also began their league campaign with a defeat, losing at home to Polokwane City. They travel to Durban after drawing 1-1 away to Chippa United on Tuesday.

Nyatama expects Richards Bay to pose a significant threat, particularly because of the pace in their attack and their ability to score.

“They are a very tricky side. They are quick and they are scoring, which is something that we also need to improve on,” he said.

With the two fixtures arriving in quick succession, City have had little opportunity to reflect on Wednesday’s stalemate. Nyatama instead wants the whole squad to contribute as they attempt to end their scoring drought and claim their first league victory.

“It will take hard work. The guys are pushing and the attitude is very good, positive, and the camp also is very positive,” he said. “So it will take each and every one the unity, hard work and everyone pushing in the same direction so that we can get the points.”

The match will be City’s second KZN derby in a row, after Wednesday’s encounter with Golden Arrows ended without a goal. During that game, Durban City’s Seth Green challenged for a header ahead of Golden Arrows players.