Missed chances costs Richards Bay says coach

Richards Bay coach Ronnie Gabriel bemoaned a golden scoring opportunity to beat Kaizer Chiefs in KwaMashu on Wednesday and win a first game of the new Betway Premiership season.

With his side leading, Gabriel saw speedy attacker Thulani Gumede free with only the goalkeeper to beat but he put his second half effort wide.

“We were 2-1 up and then we had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper to make it 3-1 but we didn't take the chance and then Chiefs went and equalised at the other end,” said Gabriel.

“Had we taken the chance there, the win would have been secured. It would have been our three points, but that's the way the story goes in the PSL. If you don't take the chances when presented to you, then you pay on the other end, and that's exactly what happened.”

Richards Bay lost their opening game of the new league season, at home to Polokwane City, but have drawn three in a row since with the midweek clash against Chiefs ending 2-2.

“I felt our plan to face a strong Chiefs team, especially with the formation that they play, was spot on and we managed to nullify the threats in the side areas using the wing backs.

“But leading twice in the game, I felt we could have held on for the three points. It is disappointing to throw away three points like that and take one point. But be that as it may, we came up against a very strong Kaizer Chiefs team.

“They also held possession for long periods in the game. They gave us some difficult moments, some difficult challenges that we that we had to resolve. But again, I think with that type of performance that we put out, with the effort that we put out, the commitment by the group, we would have ideally liked to take the three points.

“So we'll have to take this type of effort into the next game against AmaZulu and see if it gets us three points.”

Richards Bay will be hosting that clash, on Friday September 4, also at the Princess Magogo Stadium because the Umhlathuze Sports Complex is closed for field maintenance.

“The confidence is high in a group. In terms of performances and in terms of where we've been playing in the last few games, we've had good performances.

"The first win is still coming, but in terms of the performance, the efforts, goal scoring chances created, I mean, look at (the Chiefs) game,” added Gabriel.