Richards Bay and Durban City were reduced to sharing the spoils in their latest Betway Premiership encounter, with the game ending in a 0-0 draw at the uMhlathuze Stadium on Sunday evening.
In what was a tense game summed up by missed opportunities, the Natal Rich Boyz and City eventually settled for a point at the Richards Bay grounds.
Durban City started the game as the better side and created a couple of scoring opportunities through Bokang Mokwena inside the first five minutes.
Richards Bay fought back via attempts from Wandile Ngema and Thabisa Ndelu around the 15th minute mark but were unable to put the ball into the back of the net.
While Durban City looked bright early on, it was the Natal Rich Boyz who edged the possession count at the half-hour mark as they searched for the opening goal of the encounter.
Richards Bay continued to play on the front foot en-route to the halftime whistle as seen with Wandile Ngema’s long range effort in the 43rd minute.
At the other end of the pitch, Mokwena and Odwa Nyulu came close to breaking the deadlock with headed efforts inside the box.
With neither side able to make the most of their chances in the first-half, the referee blew the whistle with the score reading 0-0 at the break.
Durban City looked lively after the restart, particularly through missed attempts by Haashim Domingo and Mokwena, with Richards Bay sitting back in soaking up the pressure.
Despite enduring pressure leading up to the 75th minute mark, Richards Bay continued to see the bulk of the ball but struggled to breach the opposition backline.
Gavin Hunt’s charges looked to open the scoring from range on a couple of occasions, however, Richards Bay did enough to contain their opposite numbers as the 80th minute approached.
With both teams unable to affect the scoreboard across 90 minutes, the match official called-time on the encounter with the game ending in a 0-0 stalemate.
Richards Bay: 0
Durban City: 0
Richards Bay: Otieno, Khumalo, Mabua (Zuke 11’), Zulu, Mabuya, Mthethwa, Ndelu (Nombengula 60’), Zikhali, Mthembu (Mahala 77’), Ngema (Thikazi 77’), Mutizwa (Mhango 77’)
Durban City: Keet, Mashego, Mkhize, Ncanana, Nyulu, Jurgens, Jodwana, Domingo (Lwamba 86’), Mokwena (Sifumba 81’), Maseko (Magawana 81’), Koapeng (Kamatuka 61’)