Royal AM coach John Maduka says the victory over Golden Arrows will give him and his players new confidence after the club’s five-match winless run.
Maduka was said to be under pressure after losing the last four matches in all competitions and an overall winless streak of five games, which saw Royal AM drop down the table.
But they beat Golden Arrows in the KZN Derby at Harry Gwala Stadium on Tuesday night to move up to number 14 with 11 points after 10 matches.
“We really needed something like this,” Maduka told iDiski Times after the game.
“So that it gives players confidence again because if you lose so many games in a row it takes your confidence away from you, you stop even believing in yourself.”
Royal AM’s goal was scored by Menzi Masuku in the second minute of the game from a tight angle, following a brilliant pick out by Kabelo Mahlasela.
“On Tuesday it was really good for us to get points and I think we deserved it from the word go,” added Maduka.
“I think from the word go, we pushed, we worked very hard, we took the game to them, we put them under pressure. You could see towards the end of the game our players were starting to have problems – cramping because the Arrows’ intensity was very high.
“To also score the goal very early was crucial because you score early like that, you know the confidence even becomes more and you believe in yourself to say, yes we have scored, but let’s go a bit more.
“We created chances especially in the first half and unfortunately we couldn’t find the second goal.”
Goalkeeper Hugo Nyame, who has been in and out of the side, was back in goals and produced top saves and walked away with Man of the Match award.
“It was good to have Nyame in the team and at least this was his third game since he came back and also the captain [Samuel Manganyi] is back – remember he was also injured.
“It was good to have most of them available for selection because it gives you the option as a coach to use.”
Royal AM will hope to win two games in a row for the second time this season when they visit Cape Town City at DHL Stadium on Friday (19:30), in what will be a quick turnaround.
