Ronnie Gabriel addresses Richards Bay woeful start

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Gabriel opens up on Richards Bay poor start

Photo: Darren Stewart

Richards Bay FC head coach Ronnie Gabriel has shared his thoughts on his team’s nightmare start to the 2025/26 Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign, with pressure mounting courtesy of a poor run of form.

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The Natal Rich Boys succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of rejuvenated Kaizer Chiefs, falling to Gaston Sirino’s solitary strike at the FNB Stadium on Tuesday.

As a result, the club has now lost their opening three Betway Premiership matches, suffering defeats to provincial rivals Golden Arrows and Marumo Gallants respectively in the process. In addition, the KZN side was subjected to a 4-0 thumping by Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 quarterfinals.

With his team at the bottom of the log standings, Gabriel made an honest admission that his troops’ display leaves a lot to be desired but is adamant that they were dominant in their first two league outings.

“It’s not the best start to the season; no team would like this kind of start to the season. But based on the performance of our first two games, today [Tuesday] we were not the best out there, we must admit that,” said the former Uthongathi tactician.

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“But based on the performance of our first two games, I’m talking in terms of goal scoring chances created, final third entries, possession, we did well – we actually dominated the opposition. Although we lost the last two games, we are coming from good performances without the results.

The Bay mentor went on to highlight that the club has been integrating a host of youngsters into the first team squad, stressing that they are not yet accustomed to the standard and level of football in the South African topflight division.

“Yes, ideally, we would like to pick up points, but it was not to be. But remember we are also blending a lot of youngsters into the team; we are getting them used to the rigors of the PSL and we are confident that it will come right going forward,” added Gabriel.

The Jomo Biyela-owned team will be eager to get off the mark when they swing back into Betway Premiership action with a clash against Chippa United at uMhlathuze Sports Complex on Tuesday, 26 August.

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