Smiso Msomi
Royal AM head coach John Maduka believes his side’s victory in the recent KwaZulu-Natal derby is the perfect springboard for his side’s change of fortunes.
Thwihli Thwahla converted two penalties in the second half to overcome Richards Bay in uMlazi on Saturday, easing worries of potentially being drawn into a relegation scrap. Ahead of the resumption of the second round of the 2023/24 DStv Premiership campaign, Royal AM were looking over their shoulders as they began the year just a place above the relegation zone.
With their transfer ban still in place, many would have logically suggested that the Pietermaritzburg-based club would be dragged into the bottom-of-the-table scrap. The Premiership campaign has been unpredictable and tightly contested with the points difference from second place onwards marginal.
Following their victory over the Natal Rich Boys, Maduka’s men leapt into 12th place in the log standings and are now just two points away from the top eight. Maduka rotated his small squad of players and introduced youngsters to his set-up as well.
The Malawian-born coach was critical of his side’s overall display on the day but was more than happy to walk away with the full set of points.
“Very happy with the points,” he said at the post-match media conference.
“Yes, it wasn’t our best performance because we had many changes in the team – about four or five players. We had to play some of them for the first time this season so one might have expected the game to be like that.
“When you win your games it gives you confidence and then when you use players that haven’t been playing and they form part of a winning team, it gives us confidence. It’s a morale boost before we play the game against Sekhukhune (United) and the more we win, the levels of confidence get better and better and better.”
The visitors looked to be at sixes and sevens in the opening 45 minutes and if not for wasteful finishing by Richards Bay, they would have gone into the half-time break at least three goals down.
Maduka noted those calamitous mistakes in an entertaining KZN derby and emphasised the importance of his team avoiding them in the future as they would hinder their progress against better opposition.
“We were not ourselves. We made mistakes in crucial areas of the pitch and if you make those mistakes in this league then you’ll have a problem,” he said.
“It’s always dramatic playing against Richard’s Bay. No team wants to lose. At the same time, games like these are very interesting because they always produce goals, both teams play a good brand of football and it’s one of the best derbies in the country.”
Royal AM will look to continue their climb up the Premiership standings when they travel to Limpopo for their clash against Sekhukhune.