Richards Bay coach Brandon Truter has expressed his admiration for the work of the newly promoted Magesi FC while also cautioning his side of the danger they possess ahead of their Carling Knockout Cup semifinal clash on Saturday.
Truter dismissed the belief that they are at an advantage to win this clash and labelled Dikwena Tsa Meetse as ‘favourites’ to be victorious on Saturday given their recent performances.
The Limpopo-based team is unbeaten in their recent six matches in all competitions.
The Natal Rich Boyz have had an underwhelming start to their 2024/25 Betway Premiership campaign and are currently 12th on the log standings. In the opening seven league games, they have secured a single win, two draws, and suffered four defeats.
Despite their lack of form, their impressive run in the League Cup has somewhat gone unnoticed and not spoken about enough. They got the better of Sekhukhune United in the first game, winning 1-0 after Lwandile Mabuya’s first-half goal, which was enough to secure the victory.
Cape Town City became their next casualty in a match that went the full distance. After an intense 90 minutes, the match ended 0-0 taking this tie into a further half an hour of additional time. A winner could not be decided and Richards Bay eventually won 5-4 in a penalty shootout to advance to the next round.
Brandon Truter will be determined to beat Magesi in this fixture as his team has done themselves proud by making it this far. A win will see Truter meet either Mamelodi Sundowns or Marumo Gallants in the final.
This is the third season Richards Bay has been in South Africa’s Premier Division. With a new massive R100 million sponsorship, which has already been invested into new players, many will suggest that Richards Bay are the favourites and could go one further than their previous semifinal exit last time out.
However, those suggestions were quickly halted by Truter, claiming that Magesi’s 3-2 win against Orlando Pirates was extremely impressive which was then followed up with a 2-2 draw against Kaizer Chiefs, a match they could have won making them a team to look out for this weekend.
“I think Magesi are favourites, with beating Pirates and with getting a positive result against Chiefs as well,” said Truter.
“Clinton Larsen, (Magesi coach), has done an amazing job by promoting them and getting them to sort of punch above their weight.
“But they showed it after the Pirates game that it wasn’t a fluke as well.
“They have the results at the moment, and I think that makes them favourites for this encounter,” Truter concluded.
Magesi is on a good run of form, remaining unbeaten across their last six games in all competitions, winning three and drawing three after losing their opening two fixtures of the season.
Clinton Larsen, one of the most experienced coaches in South African football, has taken the Limpopo-based outfit to new heights. The 53-year-old is no stranger to this competition, winning it under its previous sponsors with Bloemfontein Celtic.
This fixture should be a tactical battle and could go down to the wire in deciding a winner, but Truter has admitted that he is looking forward to facing one of his role models.
Truter had this to say about his admiration for Magesi FC head coach, “Clinton was always one I looked up to as a coach coming into the system. He also represents KZN as a local coach, so he will want to come here and pull one over us as well.”
“His team has reflected on his experience with the organisation and structure, and they play from there.
“I hope we can sort out our lack of goals at the weekend because if we score early, then they have to open up – and that compromises their structure and solidity at the back,” Truter concluded.
As we edge closer to the first-ever meeting between these two clubs, both teams will be eager to take advantage of this opportunity and leave it all out on the field for a piece of silverware.
Written by Marc Strydom.