Kaizer Chiefs returned to winning ways in the Betway Premiership after beating Richards Bay 2-1 with 10 men during their clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday night.
After just over three weeks of not playing competitive football, Chiefs finally got back in action against a struggling Richards Bay side that was also equally desperate for a win.
Both teams went into the game having tasted a victory in the league match in September.
Amakhosi coach Nasreddine Nabi twitched his squad a bit, with goalkeeper Brandon Petersen and Sibongiseni Mthethwa getting their first starts of the season, while Ashley Du Preez led the line of attack.
The Glamour Boys found the back of the net inside 20 minutes through Wandile Duba, when he beat goalkeeper Ian Otieno on his near post from an inch-perfect cross from Yusuf Maart and went into the break with a slender lead.
Three minutes into the second half, Chiefs suffered a setback when defender Reeve Frosler was shown a second yellow card of the match and given a red card for kicking Nkosikhona Ndaba in the face.
However, that did not seem to have affected Nabi’s troops in any way as they went on to find the second goal of the match when Du Preez was freed by Maart with a pinpoint pass and the speedy forward made no mistake in front of goals.
The Natal Rich Boys were handed a lifeline in stoppage time when Yanela Mbuthuma beat Petersen with a header at close range, but their last-minute efforts were not enough as they suffered their fifth defeat of the season after eight games.
They drop to number 14 with five points, while Chiefs move up to number six with 10 points after six matches.
