'We want to save Bay's premiership status'

Richards Bay may be at the summit of the play-offs mini-league but the side’s coach Vusumuzi “Kanu” Vilakazi has maintained that they weren't yet home and dry, fearing that University of Pretoria can beat Baroka on Wednesday.

Bay, who find themselves trying to save their top-flight status in the play-offs after finishing 15th in the DStv Premiership, drew goalless against Baroka at Global Stadium at the weekend. Natal Rich Boyz now have four points, having beaten AmaTuks in their play-offs opener. AmaTuks are second with three points, thanks to their win over Baroka in their own first game of this round-robin contest.

“I wouldn’t say that we’ve done it already. Yes, we are leading but if AmaTuks beat Baroka, we will be talking another language hence I am focusing on our battles. We just don’t want to lose any game. We will go to AmaTuks [on Saturday] and try to win, knowing that we will definitely win when we are playing at home as well,” Vilakazi said after the 0-0 stalemate at Baroka.

Kanu insisted that they want to save their Premiership franchise for their fans, who’ve been showing them love even when the chips are down. “We owe it to our supporters to make sure we retain the club’s Premiership status as they’ve been behind us even when we were not doing well. It was superb to see them here [at Baroka] with us again, having driven all the way from KZN,” Vilakazi said.

The Bay coach accepted the point at Baroka, bemoaning the state of the pitch at the Global Stadium. “Obviously, we were looking for three points but it just wasn’t meant to be. I must accept the point, given the fact that the conditions were not suitable... the pitch looked nice from far but when you are inside, it was something else,” Kanu said.

“You could see from both teams, there were a lot of turnovers because the field wasn’t smooth. It [the pitch] didn’t suit our style of play, it didn’t suit our image.”