Golden Arrows head coach, Manqoba Mngqithi, sent a message to the football fans in KwaZulu-Natal, urging them to attend matches in numbers.
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The story
Lamontville Golden Arrows claimed bragging rights in the first KZN derby of the season, beating Richards Bay 1-0 at a lowly attended King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi on Wednesday night.
Although Manqoba Mngqithi's Arrows claimed their first victory of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership campaign, the experienced coach was left disappointed with the turnout on the evening.
The fans who attended filled up around a quarter of the covered stands at King Zwelithini, and although both sets of supporters tried their best to uplift the teams on the pitch, it did not come close to the atmosphere from the Siwelele FC and Marumo Gallants home matches at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadiums in Bloemfontein.
Speaking to the media after Abafana Bes'thende's narrow win over the Natal Rich Boyz, coach Manqoba sent out a plea to the province's football lovers.
"The expectations from our fans are sometimes very high, but they don't always understand the role they have to play," noted the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach.
"Our performance against Siwelele was influenced largely by the presence of their fans. The fans give you energy; they drive you. This is more evident with the North African teams. When they're playing at home, it's a completely different game than when they're playing away, because at home, they have a responsibility to please supporters.
"A responsibility to run more than they would normally away from home. A football match without spectators will never really lead to anything, so I would like to urge our people to be with us in trying to build this thing and not wait for it to look nice and join us then…" shared Mngqithi, who is looking to build a formidable Arrows side, much like he did during his first stint.
Coach Manqoba not only wants to see fans come out in numbers to back Abafana Bes'thende but also to cheer on their KZN rivals, Richards Bay, AmaZulu and the newly-promoted Durban City.
"We want us to be part of it and grow with us. This team will be even stronger with supporters. I have a bunch of very talented boys who can make KZN an interesting place to be, but we need supporters to come in numbers.
"I'm not only urging fans to come out and watch Golden Arrows, but to come and support our KZN teams because once we make a fortress for our KZN teams, you can count on the end of the season how many points will remain here, which will protect teams from relegation.
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