Richards Bay head coach Brandon Truter praised the players' effort against Orlando Pirates as he tries to manage the fatigue issue.
Otieno spilled a shot back into play, which allowed Evidence Makgopa to fire home his fourth goal of the Betway Premiership season.
The Natal Rich Boyz coach admits the early goal did force the team to stray from their initial plan.
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"Ja then you have rejig the strategy, adapt because now you are chasing a goal. But I think in the opening 15, 20 minutes we were in the game, we made Sipho [Chaine] kick the ball long and we managed to pick up the second ball," Truter said on SuperSport TV
"But ja a mistake not expected from Ian [Otieno], parried the ball back into play and they reacted quickly, so well done there. But other than that I think they had half chances here and there.
"We tried but the lack of quality in the final ball is still lacking from us, we have not managed to work on anything for the past two weeks. It has been about managing fatigue from all the travelling."
The KwaZulu-Natal outfit will now turn their attention to Carling Knockout semi-final against Magesi FC on Saturday.
"It's a lot to manage, we have a semi-final on Saturday as well, we had to rejig, we had to protect Moses Mthembu, it's a bit of a crisis management but we have it under control," Truter added.
"It's hectic but I've said it in the past, the boys are managing it well, looking after themselves and the support from the club and so we'll see how it goes. It's a cup competition, it brings a different environment, a different feel. It's a good effort from them tonight.
