Royal AM seek 'clean win' | The Witness

4 hours ago

Maritzburg Sun

John Maduka, head coach of Royal AM during the DStv Premiership match between Royal AM and Kaizer Chiefs at Harry Gwala Stadium on February 18, 2024 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Photo: Gallo Images

Local Betway Premiership outfit Royal AM are unbeaten after two games but see a need to up their game in their next fixtures if they want a clean win.

Royal AM - Figure 1 — Photo Maritzburg Sun

During their first league game at Harry Gwala Stadium a fortnight ago RAM played a 1-1 draw against Cape Town City.

ALSO READ | Royal AM optimistic after decent start to new season

In their second tough looking match away at TUT’s Stadium in Pretoria, Thwihli Thwahla managed to secure a goalless draw against Supersport United.

RAM’s head coach John Maduka strongly believes his players need to be ruthless in front of the goals, also taking too long to settle during the match is a problem and more importantly his team need to stick to their usual style of playing.

If you look at our game against Supersport United, at first we were not playing as Royal AM but later we managed to find our style of playing. Also this habit of taking a while to settle down is a big worry to all of us.

“Surely if we can sort out those few things and make sure we convert our changes and don’t show too much respect to our opponents, our game will be better or achieve desired results,” said Maduka.

On Tuesday, Thwihli Thwahla will host their KZN neighbours Richards Bay at 7.30pm at Harry Gwala Stadium.

ALSO READ | Royal AM and Rich Boyz to meet in Legacy Cup

According to RAM’s general Manager Richard Makhoba, today’s event won’t be only about soccer but the followers will be entertained as “family members” with local artists, DJs and traditional dancers given a chance to market themselves before the kick off and also during the half time break.

Makhoba recently told The Witness that Thwihli Thwahla’s aim in the new season is to make sure that local spectators are fully entertained before and during all the home games. He also suggested that all the local talent from various townships around Pietermaritzburg and other nearby areas will be given a stage to shine.

“It’s not only about bringing the required vibe during our home games, but it’s about showing off the local talent and giving them a chance to market themselves. As we indicated during the off-season, this new campaign will be about looking after our communities in different parts of Pietermaritzburg and give them a fair chance to display their unknown talents. So in short, our home games won’t be only about soccer but an event dominated by entertainment to please our supporters,” said Makhoba.

Meanwhile, the Cape derby between Stellenbosch and Cape Town City is among the “hot” games in the first full midweek round of fixtures in the 2024/25 Betway Premiership, according to SuperSport.

Stellies and the Citizens will meet at the Athlone Stadium tomorrow, with both teams chasing a first league win of the season.

Stellenbosch suffered a surprise 2-0 home loss at the hands of Golden Arrows last midweek to open their Premiership campaign on a low note — though they could be forgiven for putting more focus on a very testing Caf Confederation Cup qualifying tie against DR Congo’s AS Vita Club which concluded this past weekend with the Winelands club advancing 3-1 on aggregate to progress into the group stage.

City, meanwhile, were held 1-1 by Royal AM in their league opener on September 14.

The round opens on Tuesday — a public holiday — with Orlando Pirates hosting Polokwane City in Soweto in the afternoon, followed by champions Mamelodi Sundowns tackling Marumo Gallants at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, and a KwaZulu-Natal derby between Royal AM and Richards Bay at the Harry Gwala Stadium.

On Wednesday, aside from the Cape derby, also features a clash between traditional heavyweights AmaZulu FC and Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium.