Bay And Baroka In A Battle Fight For Close To R30 Million Purse
Richards Bay coach Vusi Vilakazi has issued a strong warning to his Baroka FC counterpart, Morgan Mammila, ahead of their crucial clash at King Zwelithini Stadium this afternoon (kick-off 3:00 PM).
Vilakazi’s Bay only need a draw to secure their top-flight status in the PSL, with a win being a bonus as they currently lead the mini-league playoffs. They sit on five points after three matches, level with University of Pretoria. Unfortunately for Pretoria, their fate rests on Baroka doing them a favor by defeating the KwaZulu-Natal side, as Pretoria has already played their allocated four matches.
However, Bay remains undefeated in these playoffs. They claimed a home win against AmaTuks, drew away against Baroka, and repeated the draw against AmaTuks away to remain on top.
Baroka is rooted at the bottom of the table with just two points. However, a win with a three-goal margin would see them unseat Richards Bay and gain promotion to the DStv Premiership next season.
“We have the home advantage, and their coach, Mammila, needs to be aware that he’s in for a very tough battle,” declared Vilakazi.
“We haven’t lost a single game, and that won’t change against Baroka at home. They couldn’t beat us away, and we won’t allow them to do so here. It’ll be an interesting encounter because they still have hope. However, if I’m not mistaken, they need three goals to reach the PSL, and that’s simply not happening against us.”
This match carries immense weight as the winner is guaranteed to generate close to R30 million, depending on their final position next season and their performance in the three cup competitions. Magesi secured the other promotion spot to the DStv Premiership by winning the Motsepe Foundation Championship trophy.