Richards Bay rue missed chance as Kaizer Chiefs claim a point

Richards Bay FC manager Ronnie Gabriel believes his side missed the chance to secure their first Betway Premiership victory of the season after surrendering a 2-1 lead to draw 2-2 with Kaizer Chiefs at Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Wednesday night.

The Natal Rich Boyz twice went ahead through a brace from Nqaba Xulu and appeared set to hold on for all three points. However, Siphesihle Ndlovu equalised for Kaizer Chiefs with a 77th-minute strike to deny Richards Bay a first league win of the campaign.

Gabriel identified a one-on-one chance for Thulane Gumede as the decisive moment. Gumede had the opportunity to restore Richards Bay’s two-goal advantage, but was unable to beat the goalkeeper.

“I think we could have held on for the three points. It’s disappointing to throw away the three points like that and take one point,” Gabriel said. “We were 2-1 up and then we had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper to make it 3-1 and then we didn’t take the chance and Chiefs come and equalise on the other end. Had we taken the chance it would have been curtains. It would have been our three points.”

Richards Bay posed a consistent threat on the counter-attack and defended in an organised manner for long periods, making it difficult for Kaizer Chiefs to create clear opportunities.

Gabriel was especially satisfied with how his team dealt with Chiefs’ threat in the wide areas. Richards Bay used their wing-backs to limit the space available to their opponents, particularly against the formation employed by the visitors.

“We planned accordingly to face a strong Chiefs team, especially with the formation that they play,” he said. “We managed to nullify the threats in the side areas using the wing-backs.”

Despite that defensive discipline, Kaizer Chiefs controlled possession for extended spells and forced Richards Bay to spend long periods without the ball. Gabriel acknowledged that his side had to work hard to manage the pressure created by the visitors’ dominance.

“I think they also held possession for long periods in the game. They gave us some difficult moments, some difficult challenges that we had to solve.”

Xulu’s two goals provided one of the clearest positives for Richards Bay. The forward has now scored three goals this season, and Gabriel believes his performances show that he is capable of making a significant contribution at this level.

“He’s been brilliant thus far for us,” Gabriel said. “He has shown his worth, he’s shown his value, he’s shown his quality, that he’s capable of performing at this level.

“What better way to repay us than with goals, scoring week in and week out? We just now need to continue to work with him, polish up areas that we feel he could improve on and it can be a 10 to 12-goal season for him.”

Richards Bay must now turn their attention to next week’s KwaZulu-Natal derby against AmaZulu. Gabriel hopes the performance against Kaizer Chiefs can be repeated as his side continue their search for the first three points of their league campaign.

“We’ll have to take this type of effort into the next game against AmaZulu and see if it gets us three points,” he said.