Richards Bay to give Orlando Pirates a ‘good’ fight

Papi Zothwane, co-coach of Richards Bay FC Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix As they prepare for their clash against Orlando Pirates, Richards Bay FC co-coach Papi Zothwane says he will not place his side under “immense pressure” regarding the potential of completing a rare double over Soweto giants. The shock victory against Amakhosi propelled the Natal Rich Boys to ninth on the log table, with 23 points after 19 matches. Speaking ahead of the games against Pirates, Zothwane said they were not thinking about doing a double over the two Soweto giants, but warned that they would give Pirates a run for their money.

“I don’t want to put ourselves under pressure,” Zothwane told the club’s media team. “We will take the games as they come. Every game we play, we play to win, and we will certainly give them a good fight.” While this is the first league meeting between the two clubs this season, they crossed paths in the Carling Knockout semi-finals at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in November last year.

On that occasion, the Buccaneers edged the Natal Rich Boys 1-0 thanks to a solitary goal from Tshepang Moremi.Richards Bay will be highly motivated going into this clash against Pirates, knowing that a victory will see them move into the top eight.But they face a Buccaneers team that is equally high on confidence, having won their last two games against Chiefs and Polokwane City. They hammered Amakhosi 3-0 Chiefs in the Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium before edging Rise and Shine 2-1 at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has emphasised the need for his side to build on their outstanding performance.