Richards Bay striker Xulu can reach 10-goal mark, says coach Gabriel

Richards Bay coach Ronnie Gabriel believes new striker Nqaba Xulu can score at least 10 goals this season after making an impressive start to life at the club.

Xulu has scored three times so far, including both of Richards Bay’s goals in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Kaizer Chiefs at Princess Magogo Stadium. His latest performance further strengthened Gabriel’s belief that the 23-year-old can become a dependable source of goals for the team.

“[Xulu] has been brilliant thus far for us … he’s been a good signing for us. He’s shown his worth, he’s shown his value and he has shown his quality that he is capable of performing at this level,” Gabriel said.

The coach said Xulu’s goals were the clearest way for the forward to repay the club’s faith in him, while adding that Richards Bay would continue working to improve his game.

“There’s no better way than repaying us with goals and he’s scoring week in and week out, so we just need to continue to work with him and polish up the areas we feel we could improve him on, and he could be a 10-12 goal-striker a season.”

Xulu joined Richards Bay as a free agent before the start of the season after leaving provincial rivals Milford, who are also based in Richards Bay. Milford are league newcomers, and had released the striker before he was given the opportunity to continue his career with Richards Bay.

The forward, who is from Nongoma in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal, opened his account for the season two weeks ago when Richards Bay drew 1-1 with Durban City.

He has since added three more goals to his tally in the space of two matches, with his brace against Kaizer Chiefs marking his most productive performance for the club so far.

Gabriel’s comments underline the importance Xulu has assumed in the Richards Bay attack despite only joining the club at the beginning of the campaign. The coach believes the striker’s physical presence, quality and ability to perform at this level can help him reach a 10 to 12-goal return over the course of the season.

Richards Bay will now look to build on Xulu’s early form as they continue their campaign. For the striker, his immediate task is to maintain the consistency that has seen him score in successive fixtures and establish himself as a central figure in Gabriel’s side.

The draw with Kaizer Chiefs left Xulu with three goals for the season, while Gabriel’s assessment sets a clear target for the remainder of the campaign: reaching double figures and potentially going beyond 10 goals.