Durban — Richards Bay snatched an injury-time winner to claim a famous 1-0 victory over AmaZulu and climb up to second on the Premiership standings at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday.
The Natal Rich Boyz grabbed the win as AmaZulu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa had the unfortunate last touch before the ball ended up in the back of his net, handing the visitors their fifth win of the season.
A greatly beleaguered AmaZulu team rang the changes ahead of the difficult encounter with Richards Bay with coach Brandon Truter forced to make do without a few of his most trusted players through injuries and suspensions.
Following their MTN8 semi-final clash against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday, Truter cut a dejected figure as he learned he had to make do without leading scorer Gabadinho Mhango as well as the influence of Keagan Buchanan and Makhehleni Makhaula.
The hosts, for the first time this season lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, looking to accommodate their six changes while also closing down Richards Bay’s wing play, which has proven to be deadly this season.
The visitors, although not in complete dominance, looked the most likely to find a breakthrough in a fiercely-contested first half.
Luvuyo Memela, who made his first return to Moses Mabhida Stadium since his surprise release from AmaZulu, was at the centre of everything that was good about Richards Bay, setting up Sanele Barns for the game’s first real opportunity.
The former University of Pretoria player was delightfully put through on goal by Memela, but his well-hit effort was excellently saved by Mothwa five minutes before halftime.
Richarbs Bay coach Pitso Dladla would have been pleased with his side’s showing in the first half as they took the game to an Amaulu team who were favourites prior to kick off. Richards Bay had seven attempts at goal, four of them on target in the first half.
AmaZulu would have been reminded of their objectives at the halfway point of this game, as they had an opportunity to potentially climb to fourth on the log if results went their way.
Although Truter’s team emerged from the tunnel at halftime a different team, it was still the visitors who created another glorious opportunity early on in the second half.
It was Memela again in the thick of things, and this time his side-footed effort rattled Mothwa’s crossbar and bounced away from danger in the 50th minute.
For Richards Bay, the prospect of going within two points of log-leader Mamelodi Sundowns after nine matches played would’ve been something they could only have dreamt of at the beginning of the season and it showed as they played with confidence.
IOL Sport