Richards Bay FC chairman Sifiso ‘Jomo’ Biyela has openly shared his side’s ambitious aspirations to secure a coveted top-four finish in the Betway Premiership.
Last season, the Natal Rich Boyz finished in eighth position in the league standings with 33 points after 28 matches of the season, securing a spot in the 2025/26 MTN8 for the first time ever.
Biyela expressed his delight with their top-eight finish, but acknowledged they could have achieved even more had they not so easily squandered points in several matches throughout the season.
The Richards Bay boss is optimistic that the experiences gained from the past season will serve as a crucial foundation, propelling them towards achieving a top-four finish going forward.
BIYELA SAYS RICHARDS BAY CAN BE ABLE TO REACH TOP FOUR
“To be honest, top four is very possible,” said Biyela during the club’s unveiling of new players on Tuesday.
“When you look at the team [Sekhukhune United] that ended in fourth position this [past] season, they collected 35 points [46] points.
“I don’t want to speak about other points, I will speak about the ones that we were not supposed to lose.
“When you remember our game against Stellenbosch where we drew 1-1, we were leading the whole game and they eventually scored via that penalty. We lost that penalty. We should have not lost those two points, we could have went up to 35 points.
“Again, we came to Durban, we gave the match away to them [Stellenbosch]. I remember we missed a clear chance and it was supposed to be our 1-0. That’s another two points, that’s 37 points, we are already in number four.
“When we played SuperSport [United] in Umlazi, we gave away three points very easily, we missed the penalty, we lost those points. When you count that and the other points from the games I mentioned, we would have collected 40.
“Top four is possible and we can be able to reach it. So, we will try to work on it because we know how we missed out on it.”
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