Richards Bay always felt they would be capable of holding champions Mamelodi Sundowns, said co-coach Ronnie Gabriel after Sunday’s goalless draw in the Betway Premiership.
The stalemate at the uMhlathuze Sports Complex ended a run of 10 successive defeats for Richards Bay against the champions and edged them closer to a top eight place.
“The preparations during the week were fantastic,” Gabriel said.
“The group trained very well. I felt that going into the game, in terms of the tactical application, they followed it to perfection.
“The confidence in the group has grown over the past few weeks. We've been playing some fantastic football and coming into the game we felt that we could get something from Sundowns as well.
“I felt that there were moments that went our way, and if we took our chances on the transition, we could have scored at least two goals. But be that as it may, we are happy with this one point.
“Sundowns, we knew coming to the game, are a possession-based team, we allowed them to have the ball for lengthy periods of the game. We defended on a middle third to a low block,” added Gabriel.
“It was our plan to utilise the spaces behind the opposition’s rest defence, and it paid dividends. We felt that we had some good moments on the transitions. Our players gave Sundowns a torrid time and had it been another day, yeah, we could have gone home with three points.
“In terms of the performance of individuals, we are very, very happy with their performance, with their progress in the PSL, in terms of the value to the club and what they offer us on the pitch.
“The game against Sundowns was part of them growing up and becoming seasoned PSL players. We would have loved for them to take the chances and score, but we also understand the pressures of these types of games. They have to make split-second decisions on the pitch,” the Richards Bay coach added.