Richards Bay join big boys in the DStv Premiership
AmaTuks to battle it out for promotion after goalles draw
The GladAfrica Championship season ended with Richards Bay gaining promotion to the DStv Premiership while the University of Pretoria finished second and will take part in PSL playoffs.
Richards Bay finished as number one with 54 points, and AmaTuks second with 52. The Natal Rich Boyz secured promotion thanks to a goalless draw against Cape Town Spurs. AmaTuks also had a goalless draw with Hungry Lions.
AmaTuks join Cape Town All Stars and the team that finishes 15th in the DStv Premiership. The attention on the last day of the league was focused on Durban and Pretoria as Richards Bay and AmaTuks were the only teams aiming for automatic promotion.
At Tuks Stadium, all eyes were on the home side to see if they can reach the promised land of the DStv Premiership. Fans came out in numbers yesterday, belting choruses backed by a brass band. The pressure from AmaTuks was relentless as the game opened up, however, they did not have a clear goalscoring chance. Hungry Lions were not folding over, though, as they held their own.
AmaTuks would have felt hard done by referee Cedric Muvhali after Etiosa Ighodaro was sandwiched by two Lions defenders in the box. The cries for a penalty fell on deaf ears.
The teams went to the interval at 0-0. It was also the case at King Zwelithini Stadium – goalless at halftime between Richards Bay and Spurs.
Knowing that they still had a chance of getting an automatic promotion, AmaTuks came out guns blazing. The Pretoria outfit won a free-kick on the edge of the box and up stepped Sanele Barns. His curling effort was on target but was pushed away by keeper Glen Baadtjies.
Tuks kept on piling the pressure but they were denied by Baadtjies. The match ended 0-0 with Baadtjies being man of the match.