Mamelodi Sundowns will look to stretch their advantage at the top of the Betway Premiership log with a win against embattled Richards Bay at the King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium, Durban, on Saturday afternoon.
Sundowns enjoy a three-point lead over title rivals Orlando Pirates, who have played a game less. Both title contenders will be in action this weekend, and if both teams are victorious, Sundowns will take the three-point lead into 2025.
Richards Bay and Sundowns are at opposite ends of the table, and that paints a David versus Goliath picture of Saturday's match. That comparison, however, may be way off the mark. In their last two Premiership matches, a star-studded Sundowns have dominated but battled nonetheless, scraping home with close-shave 1-0 wins.
The last victory was against AmaZulu, who are in 13th place and two notches above KZN neighbours Richards Bay. The Natal Rich Boyz may well draw inspiration from AmaZulu's performance, which appeared good enough to claim a share of the spoils until Iqraam Rayners scored in the final minute of extra-time on Tuesday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban.
A few days earlier, Rayners again spared his team's blushes with the decider in the 1-0 win against his former team Stellenbosch FC.
Four days after their Christmas Eve match in Durban, Sundowns will be back in KZN for the Richards Bay clash and their coach Miguel Cardoso said his team do not rely on Rayners to keep the winning momentum. Cardoso says there are other attackers capable of scoring goals although Rayners was the only one on target.
“It is important Iqraam scores goals, but we have other players who can score goals at any moment. I’m not worried because I would worry if we were not creating the chances we have been in the last games," said Cardoso.
"We have created goal-scoring situations, and Iqraam is scoring. I believe we will get more coming from different players."
Although there have been lean pickings (two goals in the last two matches) for the Sundowns strike force, the defence has kept clean sheets during Cardoso's three-game tenure. His result list reads 3-0 (Sekhukhune United), 1-0 (Stellenbosch) and 1-0 (AmaZulu).
Richards Bay last played two weeks ago when they ended a run of five straight losses with a KZN derby victory at Lamontville Golden Arrows. Their coach Ronnie Gabriel feels the two-week-long break could affect their momentum.
"Ideally, we would have wanted it to be that way (play sooner) but I'm sure you'll see the way the fixtures are listed. Certain times it's congested and then the other times you got longer breaks between games,” said Gabriel.
“These things (like long breaks) affect performances, but you cannot take that away. However, we've got to work with whatever is in front of us and prepare the team adequately for a victory.”
Gabriel may draw some inspiration from the record books, which show that in their last three outings, Sundowns scraped home with 1-0 score lines. Because of the break and the prevalence of festivities, Gabriel has kept an eye on his troops and called for mindful indulging over the festive season.
"We are not in a luxurious position where the boys can have a holiday and go out there and do whatever they feel like,” said Gabriel.
“They know that they must put the club first and sacrifice this festive season just for the benefit of the club. So, we are on the same wavelength. We are all pulling in the same direction, and hopefully, it will yield the results."