Richards Bay co-coach Pitso Dladla is delighted to see Luvuyo Memela is approaching his best, having scored in the club’s previous win over Royal AM.
Memela, as he joined the club after the season had started, was short of match fitness, but he reminded his qualities when Bay brought their provincial rivals down in their last match.
The 34-year-old poked home the winner at the back post after Royal AM failed to clear their lines to net his first goal for the club this season.
Also, Memela showed his tricks and flicks on that day that were seen when he was at AmaZulu in the past two seasons, a clear indication that he was slowly getting back to his best.
Bay will rely on the Memela to thrill when they host TS Galaxy at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday (17:30), looking to become the third side this season to win three matches on the bounce.
“It is not a secret that Memela was not part of our pre-season and Ntsikelelo Nyauza wasn’t part of our pre-season,” said Dladla to iDiski Times.
Nyauza was signed from Orlando Pirates last month but has played in the last matches, scoring a winner against Stellenbosch FC early this month.
“We are trying to manage them and slowly but surely they will be fit. Can you imagine once they are fit to the level they were before, that means they will give us more,” added Dladla.
“That is what we are doing now that to say, since they weren’t part of the pre-season, let’s gradually play them so that they will not crumble because we’ll need them in the long run.”
The Premiership newbies side has been unflustered in being in the top-flight football. They have been on top of the DStv Premiership twice this season, but they were removed by Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns respectively.
They are third on the table with 13 points after seven matches, suffering one loss which came against SuperSport United at home last month.
“It is very important for us to remain grounded and remain humble,” said Dladla.
“If you could check the culture of the team, we are a team like that because this is not something that started this season. It started last season whereby we were on top for the longest time (before they won the Motsepe Foundations Championship to gain promotion).
“What helped was to remain grounded but I know I’m comparing apples and oranges. There we were going for promotion, here it is a matter of finishing in a respectable position.”
