Richards Bay coach Vusi Vilakazi says a two-week break they had to prepare has been a huge welcome even though he wanted to play Kaizer Chiefs at that time. 

Vilakazi had his hands itching to face Chiefs after they won their last game against Moroka Swallows, doing a double over them at the same time, early this month.  

Chiefs likewise played but lost to Chippa United, leading coach Vilakazi to say that he would have loved to have played their illustrious opponents after they won their third league game at home.    

Neither Chiefs nor Bay was involved in this past weekend’s matches as it was reserved for the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals, having been elbowed out by SuperSport United and Milford FC respectively. 

Vilakazi, whose side is second from bottom with 17 points after 23 matches played, said the players know the importance of this game at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday (15:00).   

“Right now, we don’t have a space for a draw or playing maybe to lose a game,” said Vilakazi. 

“If we want to survive, we must dig deep and try but all means to get the three points against Kaizer Chiefs. I feel the boys are ready, they are fit, everyone is available, and it is just a matter of selecting who is going to be the person that will represent the club for us to gain or to get the three points that are needed so much. We are going to fight and dig deep, try to get maximum points.”   

However, Bay received bad news this week as they were banned by FIFA after they allegedly failed to honor the contract of Evella Ochieng who reported the matter to the world governing body. But the chairman Sifiso Biyela has instructed his lawyers to look after the matter.  

However, Chiefs, in this fixture, have dominated it, having won their last three matches against the Natal Rich Boyz.  

“I think we had two weeks where we were trying to make sure that we paid serious attention to a few aspects of our game,” said Vilakazi. 

“Just to find the balance between our defensive structure and offensive structure. We just need to keep it very solid and make it very difficult for them to score and try to benefit in our offensive play in terms of creating more scoring opportunities, trying to convert them into goals.”