Richards Bay secured second place in the South African Premier League with a 1-0 win over Swallows in Durban on Saturday.
Left-back Tshepo Mabua scored the first goal of the league campaign for the newcomers by converting an 11th-minute penalty to seal the surprise package of the 2022-2023 season.
The win lifted promoted Bay to 26 points, two clear of SuperSport United and Kaizer Chiefs, both champions of Africa’s richest league.
Richards Bay, which is expected to be a candidate for relegation, leads Mamelodi Sundowns by five points as the 30-round season approaches the halfway point.
Despite the high position, the club’s owner Jomo Biyela said his main goal is to “stay in the Premier League for next season”.
“We have a great environment. The kids train every day, then we have lunch together. We don’t have players running to the car park after training and driving.
Biyela believes the key factor is retaining the majority of the squad that won promotion and hired former AmaZulu assistant Vasili Manousakis to coach the team alongside Pitso Dladla.
“Pitso is a very good young coach, but we don’t want to throw him behind ourselves,” added the official.
Inadequate facilities at the venue in the port city meant they played their home games in Durban, 170 kilometers (105 miles) away.
The Soweto Swallows outfit are one point above the relegation zone as they have won just three of their 13 matches and have changed their coach twice with German Ernst Middendorp the latest.
In the other Durban match, the hungry Chiefs secured a 2-0 win against the hosts Golden Arrows through first half goals from Burundi’s Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana and Mozambique’s Edmilson Dove.
Bimenyimana topped the Premiership goals chart with seven after joining Chiefs this year from Kazakhstan club Kaisar.
Johannesburg-based Chiefs have won a record 54 domestic titles, but none since becoming league champions in 2015.