Saturday quarter-final cup clash for NRB

A SHIFT in match arrangements will see Richards Bay FC put their league title promotion project on hold as they head to Mdantsane on Saturday for their Nedbank Cup quarter-final clash against Chippa United. Their scheduled NFD game against Royal AM has been postponed and will be played at the end of April. Chippa, currently lying 13th on the 16team PSL table, squeezed through the last 16 round with an unconvincing win over Cape Town City in an uninspiring game. There is no doubt that tired legs are in evidence in both the PSL and NFD as the demands of the cramped Covid-hit schedule takes its toll. That’s one of the reasons Simo Dladla’s NRB boys will certainly not be intimidated going into this cup tie. They are a team that is extremely well conditioned and high on confidence, and despite Dladla’s warning to the players that the glory of being seen on TV in front of the nation is short-lived compared to the lasting benefits of winning the league, there will be no holding back.

But while the youngsters will want their moment of cup fame – not to mention a share of the R7-million that’s at stake – Dladla is thinking ahead to what the cup run might cost them in the bigger picture of aspiring for PSL promotion.

His reasoning might well impact on Saturday’s team selection, and I reckon we will see some unfamiliar faces in the run-on team, perhaps blooding some of the super fast youngsters who will be itching to have a go against the leg-weary opposition.

‘We have a number of players with yellow cards who are close to suspension. Is it worth playing them in the cup and risking a suspension for vitally important league games?

‘We must take these factors into consideration,’ he said at Monday’s training session, where the focus was on all the lost opportunities in the 0-0 draw against Bizana Pondo Chiefs on Saturday.

‘We played well and dominated most of the game, but we can’t afford to let these chances go wasted.’

His team selection will almost certainly see the omission of star goalkeeper Malcolm Jacobs, who is nursing a soft tissue leg injury.

Local fans’ eyes will be glued to their screens when the game is televised live on SuperSport on Saturday at 3.30pm.

Despite Chippa being the favourites, I predict a narrow win for Richards Bay, and progress into the semi-finals.