Kgaogelo Sekgota scores on debut as Siwelele eke out away draw with Richards Bay

Kgaogelo Sekgota enjoyed a dream start to life with Siwelele, scoring just seconds into his debut in a 1-1 Betway Premiership draw against Richards Bay at the Umhlatuze Sports Complex on Friday night.

The former Kaizer Chiefs man found the net in the first minute, courtesy of a speculative long-range effort that took a wicked deflection, completely wrong-footing Ian Otieno. Despite the early breakthrough, the opening stanza remained error-strewn. Otieno was called into action again five minutes later to prevent a quick-fire second, while at the other end, Lundi Mahala missed a golden opportunity for the Natal Rich Boys after rounding keeper Ricardo Goss following a weak back-pass.

Mahala also fired straight at Goss when he found space in the middle of the box as the game began to open up, Wandile Ngema setting up most of the chances created by the home team.

When Mahala was brought down in the box in first half extra time, the referee had no hesitation pointing to the spot. Moses Mthembu slotted the resultant penalty in the corner to draw Ronnie Gabriel's side level as the volume ratcheted up a notch in the stands.

There was still time for the increasingly dangerous Ngema to flash a shot wide before the whistle sounded for half-time with the score 1-1.

Sekgota's debut ended when he was replaced by Christian Saile in the 68th minute. Saile almost had an instant impact for Siwelele when he laid on a cross for Chibuike Ohizu, who headed wide at the back post with the goal gaping. 

Otieno, who had an iffy game in goal until that point, produced three top-class saves late on to preserve the point for his team, the best of those a full-length diving stop to keep out Siwelele substitute Enoch Quaicoe's curling goal-bound effort. 

The result leaves Richards Bay in ninth place in the standings with 18 points, while Siwelele briefly moved up to 10th place in the standings.