Richards Bay hoping to maintain good form under Zothwane

Richards Bay head coach Papi Zothwane has urged his team to focus on what's in front of them rather than look in their rearview mirror as they prepare to face Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, March 30.

Kick-off is at 3.30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Current form:

Zothwane has done an impressive job since taking over the reins from interim coaches Ronnie Gabriel and Sboniso Gumede in January, losing just one of his opening eight matches in charge.

The former Magesi assistant coach oversaw a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs before the international break on March 16 as the Natal Rich Boyz bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to Dikwena tsa Meetse.

Zothwane's side have opened up a three-point gap to the danger zone and they are just five points outside the top eight in 11th place with eight games left to play in the season.

Rise And Shine have endured a miserable two months since embarking on their best run of the campaign when they went unbeaten in eight matches to occupy the final CAF berth.

However, the 2-0 reverse to Richards Bay on February 8 started their slide down the table and Phuti Mohafe's side have only picked up three points from their last seven outings.

The Limpopo outfit now find themselves four points adrift of the top three in sixth position after suffering back-to-back defeats against Golden Arrows (1-0) and Chippa United (2-0).

What was said:

Richards Bay head coach Papi Zothwane

"We've instilled in the players not to worry about what's happening behind us. There's nothing you can change about that. The only thing we can control is challenging those teams in front of us.

"We want to focus on getting more points. If you look at the standings, one win can push you into the top eight. That's our focus - to keep moving forward."

Players to watch:

Polokwane City - Oswin Appollis hasn't been able to make the same impact for Rise And Shine this term, contributing just two goals and no assists from 21 league appearances. The 23-year-old winger remains dangerous on set-pieces and came close to opening the scoring against Chippa with a free-kick that flew inches over the crossbar, while Bulelani Nikani failed to convert a header from his corner.

Richards Bay - Fezile Gcaba has earned the trust of Zothwane after barely featuring at all this season. The 26-year-old right-back has started the last five games and repaid the coach's faith by scoring against Sekhukhune United and Kaizer Chiefs, registering his first two goals for the club to aid their fight for survival.

Head-to-Head: (Previous Betway Premiership Meetings)

Matches - 3

Polokwane City wins - 1

Richards Bay wins - 1

Draws - 1