Richards Bay FC coach Kaitano Tembo secured a much-needed lifeline for himself and his team with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Swallows FC at the Richards Bay Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Natal Rich Boyz had come into the game on the back of a string of poor results. They had lost three of their opening five matches, with the other two draws. Pressure was starting to mount on Tembo, who is in his first season in charge of the club.
However, his charges responded magnificently, putting in a disciplined and committed performance to earn a vital three points.
The only goal of the game came in the 55th minute, when Richards Bay striker Justice Figuareido notched home.
Swallows pressed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Richards Bay held on firm to secure a vital win.
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The KZN club remain perched in 15th place on the DStv Premiership standings and will have to start winning games to climb up the table.
Kaitano Tembo was understandably delighted with his team’s performance after the game.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” he said. “They showed great character and determination to come away with the win today.
“We knew that Swallows are a good team, but we stuck to our game plan, and it paid off in the end.
“This is a massive result for us, and it gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”
The win will be a huge relief for Tembo, who was under increasing pressure to start delivering results.
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He will be hoping that his team can build on this momentum and put together a run of wins to move further away from the relegation zone.
There were murmurs within the Richards Bay camp that the Zimbabwean mentor’s job was on the line. This came after a poor start to the season.
The former SuperSport United and Sekhukhune United coach was appointed Richards Bay head coach following the departure of Vasili Manousakis at the end of last season. Manousakis left with his assistants Pitso Dladla and Ronnie Gabriel after a difficult second round of the season. They finished 13th in their maiden season in the topflight.