Relegation threat heats up as Spurs take on Richards Bay

According to Cape Town Spurs head coach Ernst Middendorp, the team's last hope in surviving automatic relegation will take centre stage when they play against Richards Bay on Friday evening in the DStv Premiership at the Athlone Stadium.

Kick-off is at 7:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

Spurs are placed 16th, and have faced four defeats in a row, their latest being a 1-0 loss against Sekhukhune United.

The team will be looking to break their unfortunate luck against Richards Bay who are a position above them on the log.

Richards Bay are off the back of a morale boosting 1-0 victory against Kaizer Chiefs and also defeated Moroka Swallows before that match.

However, before those wins they had also faced losses against Golden Arrows and SuperSport United respectively.

The Natal Rich Boyz are now on 20 points, eight above the Urban Warriors who are rooted at the bottom of the league standings.

It’s a must win fixture for both teams in their fight against relegation from the DStv Premiership.

Cape Town Spurs vs Richards Bay

Athlone Stadium 🏟️

Friday, 26 April 2024 - 19:30🕒

Tickets available on Ticketpro 🎫

Link 🔗 https://t.co/cFRRGZ5pdw pic.twitter.com/BYd1Va59FQ

— Cape Town Spurs FC (@CapeTownSpursFC) April 23, 2024

WHAT WAS SAID

Richards Bay FC coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi says that he needs consistency from his players ahead of this all-important relegation battle clash.

“It’s not going to be easy, playing away in Cape Town has never been easy but obviously, we just need to be consistent,” he said.

Vilakazi feels that his team might have the upper hand in terms of confidence after producing back-to-back wins in the league and hopes they’ll use it to their advantage.

“We will try and capitalise on their weaknesses and make sure that we fine-tune our offensive play in terms of converting the chances that we create,” he concluded.

Cape Town Spurs coach Ernst Middendorp on the other hand, has been extremely vocal about staying realistic as his team navigate their next set of fixtures.

“Everything depends on Friday evening, if we don’t win on Friday and then you can close the book, that’s the reality,” he said.

“We have to win this game. We have to get three points.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Keagan Buchanan, Cape Town Spurs - In their last match, Buchanan came on as a substitute and showed moments of brilliance in terms of creativity. If he starts this fixture, the midfielder might have more tricks up his sleeve to guide his struggling team to a win.

Simphiwe Mcineka, Richards Bay - Mcineka scored the goal in the Natal Rich Boyz’s match against Chiefs and the 27-year-old defender will need to be on form to prevent the Urban Warriors from scoring, as they can be dangerous on a good day.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL LEAGUE RESULTS (Top flight only)

Season Result Scorers

2023/24 Bay 1-0 Spurs (Mohamme)