Richards Bay interim coach Ronnie Gabriel has not minced his words following their disappointing 3-1 home loss to AmaZulu at King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday, disputing the Usuthu’s second goal scored by Etiosa Ighodaro. 

Instead of accepting the defeat, Gabriel cast doubt on the legitimacy of one of AmaZulu’s goals while pointing to travel fatigue as a factor that hindered his side’s performance.

The spotlight of Gabriel’s post-match comments fell on AmaZulu’s second goal, which he deemed illegitimate. “I’ve watched the replays now,” Gabriel asserted. “That was not a goal, I’m saying it openly. That so-called goal took the sting out of us. Had something like that not happened, we could have maybe scored an equaliser.”

While Bay camp had anticipated a “new-manager bounce” under the trio of interim coaches following Brandon Truter’s resignation on Thursday, Gabriel’s remarks suggested a team weighed down by external factors rather than internal solutions.

Gabriel didn’t stop at criticizing the officiating; he also blamed his players’ sluggishness on the tight schedule leading up to the match. “I feel today’s performance had a lot to do with where we are coming from. We played Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday, traveled back on Thursday, had one day here in Durban, and then we played AmaZulu today,” he explained.

He painted a picture of a team struggling to keep up: “In the first half, we all could see that the team was a little heavy. We were second to everything. We were not as sharp as we could have been.”

However, Gabriel also acknowledged his side’s flaws, describing the first half as “disappointing.” Still, he was quick to shift the blame away from the players, stating, “It’s not due to the players not taking instructions or anything like that. It’s just that we lacked that sharpness in the first half. The circumstances were beyond our control today.”

The Natal Rich Boys’  defeat leaves them rooted at the bottom of the Betway Premiership table, with time running out to reverse their fortunes. Gabriel’s attempt to deflect blame onto refereeing decisions and the rigors of travel has done little to mask the broader issues plaguing the KZN side.  

In contrast, AmaZulu, under the guidance of coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi and Arthur Zwane, capitalized on their opportunities and exploited Bay’s defensive frailties. The away team showed no signs of sympathy, ensuring their local rivals’ misery was prolonged.  

Bay’s next challenge will require more than excuses or officiating debates at home against SuperSport United on Friday. Whether Gabriel and his fellow interim coaches can inspire a turnaround remains to be seen—but the clock is ticking on their fight for survival.