RECENT RESULTS have brought hope back to the coach of Richards Bay FC, Ronnie Gabriel, by reserving a place in the Top 8 as he has gained popularity in the Sumpi with the conclusion of the Betway Premiership season.
Bay, which is in tenth place in the Premiership log, has four games left – including two at home – to fight to return to MTN8 for the second time next season.
On Sunday, they disrupted Mamelodi Sundowns’ run for the league title, holding them 1-1 at the Mhlathuze Sports Complex, in Richards Bay.
Bay has eight points from its last four games.
“We are doing well in our home games. What worried us was not doing well in our away games, which is why we have regained hope to come back with three points away from TS Galaxy.
The form is picking up, the team is getting bigger but the league is a long race. So I think we got the form at the right time.
It is not common at this time of the season to play four games in the PSL (Premiership) without losing. We have four games left and I believe that we will be able to be a team that is not easy to beat until the end of the season, the level of confidence is increasing in the team,” said Gabriel, who trains together with Papi Zothwane.
“It was already one of our goals from the beginning of the season to finish in the Top 8, and statistically we can still achieve this goal in the games we have left.
Without underestimating the teams we are going to play with, but if I look at the games we are going to play, I believe that we have a chance to steal points.”
Nata Rich Boyz, which is in its fourth season in the Premiership following its promotion to this division at the end of 2021/22, played for the first time in the MTN8 competition this season after finishing in eighth place last season.
In the remaining four home games, they will play Polokwane City and Sekhukhune United, away from Marumo Gallans and Magesi FC separately.
This team from KwaZulu-Natal, which is full of young players, has turned its home field, Mhlathuze Sports Complex, into a place to burden the opponents. In the 15 games they have played at this stadium since September, they have lost only to Orbit College.