sportskeeda
Golden Arrows co-coach Musa Bilankulu emphasizes that the defeat to Richards Bay at Mpumalanga Stadium on Saturday in the Betway Premiership cannot be attributed solely to the absence of co-coach Mabhuti Khenyeza from the sidelines.
Khenyeza, feeling frustrated by the circumstances, opted to step back from his role at the club, as reported by Sportswire last week, believing that his input was being undervalued.
The club has confirmed that Khenyeza had been away for almost two weeks, and sources informed Sportswire that the situation seems unlikely to change, citing his anger regarding the club’s interference in his responsibilities.
This development follows the team’s achievement of two consecutive victories, which elevated them to sixth place in the standings prior to his decision to step back.
With Khenyeza missing from the action on Saturday, Arrows’ winning streak was halted by the struggling Richards Bay, who celebrated their second win of the season and their first under co-coaches Ronnie Gabriel and Sboniso Gumede.
In light of Khenyeza’s absence, Bilankulu pointed out the strong collaboration within their coaching team: “Preparing was not challenging because we have been working closely together, the three of us (including Kagisho Dikgacoi),” Bilankulu noted.
“With coach Mabhuti away, we took on our responsibilities since we had already set structured programs in place. It wasn’t just him leading the sessions.
“We were all sharing ideas and planning the training sessions even before he decided to step back, and I don’t believe that his absence caused our loss.
“We recognized the situation and needed to maintain a professional approach towards the match. I am reluctant to link our defeat to Khenyeza’s absence because everyone put in hard work during preparation and showed promise.
“Thus, I can’t hold the players or the tactical team accountable; we exerted ourselves, and I still believe we could have achieved a win, which makes it unfortunate that we couldn’t capitalize on our opportunities in the second half.”
The defeat resulted in Arrows slipping to seventh place in the Betway Premiership table, now with 13 points from nine matches. Conversely, Richards Bay climbed off the bottom of the table to 15th, accumulating eight points from 11 matches, thereby breaking a five-game losing streak that led to the dismissal of former coach Brandon Truter.
