Richards Bay coach Brandon Truter says there is no hiding the fact that if his players want to win the Carling Knockout competition, they will have to beat the best.

Bay reached their second successive Carling Knockout semifinal after beating Cape Town City 5-4 on penalty shootouts following a goalless draw after extra time at King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday.

Last season, Bay reached the semifinal after beating cup kings Orlando Pirates, also on penalty shootouts, at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. They are the only KwaZulu-Natal side remaining in the competition, just like it was last season’s competition.

“I said, if you want to win this competition, any cup competition, you have to face the best team,” said Truter after Saturday’s game. “Cape Town City is one of them, Sekhukhune United (in the first round) wasn’t any easy game as well, and I don’t think there is any easy game in this competition. So, we will take it as it comes.”

Even though Bay is through to the semifinal, Truter is concerned. The former Sekhukhune coach is not pleased with their lack of goalscoring this season.

“Any win is good,” said Truter. “But consistency is important, especially at home. As much as we are happy, and there are a lot of positives from the game, we can’t ignore the fact that we haven’t scored a goal.

“Goals are far and few between and they come from set plays at the moment. So, it’s an area of concern, an area we are working on right now, and that is one of the challenges we are facing. But so far on the road, our losses have come away, whereas last season Richards Bay picked up more points on the road. So, it has turned around. We will work on it and we will set it up. Like I said, it is important for this team not to lose from here.”

Bay was joined in the semifinal by Mamelodi Sundowns, who hammered Kaizer Chiefs 4-0 at FNB Stadium. The draw for the semis will take place after the other quarterfinals have been played on Sunday.