Richards Bay head coach Brandon Truter wants his team to be far less reactionary against Sekhukhune United in the opening round of the Carling Knockout at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Sunday.
Kick-off is at 5:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
CURRENT FORM
Truter kicked off his tenure with a 1-0 victory over TS Galaxy in their Betway Premiership opener on 15 September but has gone winless in his next three matches.
A 1-0 reverse to Orlando Pirates on 29 September was their second defeat of the season, although Truter can take encouragement from the fact that the Natal Rich Boys have only conceded two goals in their first four games.
However, the KZN outfit have only found the back of the next once and Truter believes part of the problem stems from a lack of identity in their playing style.
Richards Bay made it all the way to the semifinals of the cup competition last season before losing 3-0 to eventual champions Stellenbosch and Truter believes they can go far again by showing a greater attacking intent.
Sekhukhune United have made a promising start to life under Lehlohonolo Seema in his second stint at the club.
Seema was placed on "special leave" by Babina Noko in May and vacated his post one month later before returning to the helm in August following the resignation of Peter Hyballa.
He has guided the team to two wins and a draw in their opening three matches of the new league campaign, while narrowly missing out on qualifying for the CAF Confederation Cup group stages after being eliminated by Lunda Sul on away goals.
WHAT WAS SAID
Richards Bay head coach Brandon Truter
"We need to settle and create an identity as well. At this moment we're reacting to opponents... We do need to build a culture but the squad is so thin that you're forced to react.
"But we would like to be a home team that looks forward to attacking more, instead of managing situations and teams."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Richards Bay - Justice Figuareido looked sharp against the Buccaneers as he came close to opening his account for the season.
The 26-year-old Eswatini striker forced Sipho Chaine into a fine save with a volley on 58 minutes before firing just wide from range in the 72nd minute.
He also started all four of the King's Shield's recent 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but didn't get his name on the scoresheet.
Sekhukhune United - Andy Boyeli was handed his third successive start since joining Babina Noko from Power Dynamos in July and he enjoyed another promising outing against Arrows.
The 23-year-old DR Congo striker, who opened his account on debut against Magesi, played in Shaune Mogaila with a well-weighted pass on the left on 51 minutes, but Edward Maova denied him an assist with a good save.
HEAD-TO-HEAD (Previous five meetings)
Matches - 5
Richards Bay wins - 1
Sekhukhune wins - 2
Draws - 2