Gabriel targets historic cup final after Richards Bay’s comeback win

Richards Bay co-coach Ronnie Gabriel believes his side are capable of going all the way in the Carling Knockout Cup after their dramatic 3–1 extra-time victory over Durban City at the Umhlathuze Sports Complex on Sunday.

The Natal Rich Boyz overturned a second-half deficit through goals from Knox Mutizwa, Mbulelo Nombengula and Lundi Mahala to book their place in the semi-finals — a stage they have reached before but never progressed beyond.

Gabriel, who shared touchline duties with Papi Zothwane, says this year’s group has the hunger and quality to finally break that barrier.

“We’ve always been at this stage but this year, we want to take it a step further and give the fans something to cheer about,” Gabriel said. “Experiencing a final appearance would be a remarkable achievement for the team.”

The Richards Bay mentor also hopes that his team’s impressive cup form can translate into better league results as they continue to balance both competitions.

“We would like these types of things to also happen in the league for us,” he added. “Getting a couple of good results alongside a good cup run will be good for the club.”

Having watched his side come from behind to overpower a resilient Durban City, Gabriel praised the character and experience shown by his players.

“The belief is there and it showed today having been a goal down,” he said. “The experience showed as well from the players that came in and blended well with the youngsters.”

Gabriel was full of admiration for the team’s response after falling behind to Trevor Mokwena’s stunning opener, insisting Richards Bay were dominant once they found their equaliser.

“It was just a matter of time before we got the breakthrough, and after we found the equaliser, it was one-way traffic,” he said.

“We were always confident we’d get the winner because the writing was on the wall — it was all us today. We won the war of attrition; the anaerobic capacity of the group showed its prowess. The opposition failed to keep up with the pace of the game, and our fitness eclipsed them.”

With confidence soaring, Gabriel now has his eyes firmly set on leading Richards Bay to their first major cup final — a goal that would mark another major step forward for the ambitious KwaZulu-Natal outfit.