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AmaZulu co-coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi believes their win over Richards Bay is the result of the hard work put in during the most recent FIFA break.
Usuthu returned to Betway Premiership action on Saturday afternoon and beat their KZN rivals 3-1 in a polished performance at the King Zwelithini Stadium to move out of the relegation zone, albeit by one point.
Vilakazi says there are clear signs of improvement since taking over alongside Arthur Zwane in October.
"I think it was all about proper planning obviously we knew that we are coming against a very tough side. We were both not doing well on the log and we wanted to be victorious on the day but I think the assignment that we had was spot on in terms of making sure that there was well preparation coming into this game," Vilakazi said.
"One would have loved to play again after winning against Chippa but we took that as a blessing in disguise in terms of making sure that we get more time to align with the players and try to have that chemistry because we only had one week prior to the Carling Cup against Stellies.
"We had two weeks prior to Orlando Pirates so the time was not enough in terms of gelling with the team and the understanding between players and also with the coaches but we've utilised the four weeks that we are coming from and one is happy in terms of getting the three points today."
The AmaZulu mentor admitted they had to think on their feet a little over 24 hours before the match after coach Brandon Truter and Richards Bay parted company – goals from Rowan Human, Etiosa Ighodaro and Ethan Brooks proved they got their tactics spot on.
"Unfortunately, what we were preparing was something else because the coach left so we planned according to what Truter was capable of doing but we readjusted the past two days because we anticipated that the approach might be different,” the coach explained.
“Instead of having five at the back, they might have four which is something that happened today. So, I think we were lucky and spot on, on that one but in terms of playing and keeping the ball possession we knew that we had an upper hand, we can do that the whole day.
But we needed to have forceful penetrations in terms of making sure that we create scoring opportunities and I think the first half for us, we started very well, dominated, kept the ball very well, created scoring opportunities we won it 1-0.
“So, when we started the second half we wanted to win the second half which is something that happened and we won the second half 2-1."
