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LEOPARD ELIMINATE FANCIED

28/02/2015 23:19:00 BY BHEKISISA MAGONGO

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(At Somhlolo National Stadium)

Leopard.................................(1) 3

Bidvest Wits..........................(0) 0

Leopard on 9-8 aggregate after penalties)

LOBAMBA – They left their homes as mere mortals, but returned later in the evening as legends.

Make that one, new national heroes, Royal Leopard who rewrote the history books with an unprecedented comeback by a local side in the CAF club competition. The good thing is that the feat was achieved against a South African side, Bidvest Wits. No Swazi team has ever eliminated a team from South Africa in the CAF competition. And their next opponents are likely to be Angolan side Pedro Luanda who were due to play Comoros Island Volcano Club in the second leg in Luanda yesterday, having won the first leg away 1-0.

The Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane coached side, which reached the last 16 of the competition three years ago, showed the same resilience in yesterday’s second match at Somhlolo National Stadium, watched by Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs David Cruiser Ngcamphalala and about 400 supporters. They turned what was long concluded as mission impossible to possible, scoring three goals inside 71 minutes to force the match to penalty shoot outs where they won 6-5 on sudden death penalties. The hero of the afternoon was forgotten star, Mathokoza Tokyo Thwala who came off the bench for Mduduzi Juries Gama to score the vital third goal before smashing home the winning penalty to provoke untold scenes of jubilations from the home crowd.

The police side showed great improvement tactically from their first leg showing two weeks ago in Johannesburg, where they literally failed to come to the party. But yesterday, Nuro went for an attacking line up, with Mthunzi Mkhontfo starting at target man upfront, replacing the injured Barry Steenkamp. Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini, who started on the bench in the first leg. He was back in the starting eleven on the right wing, and the decision paid dividends early in the match. An early goal is what they needed, and with playmaker Zweli ‘Mlilo’ Nxumalo deployed as a shadow striker behind Mthunzi, he flourished, and so did Mxolisi Lukhele who linked the midfield and attack very well.

It took them 15 minutes to open the score board, with a well worked goal, as Sizwe Khumalo, Juries, Mlilo and Mzoro combined for the latter to rattle the net from an acute angle. Mlilo had cleverly threaded the final pass on his path and he made no mistake with a same time shot that beat Boafeli at the far corner. Still, no one figured out any possible come back, even though the blue and white side looked well organised both defensively and offensively. They pressed their opponents well, when without possession, and the trick yesterday was to shift the lanky Siboniso Roco Malambe to police Sithembiso Ngcobo. The skipper did the business.

Juries nearly made it 2-0 on the stroke of halftime, but his shot was parried by Boafeli and it bounced off the cross bar before slipping out for a corner. Mzoro missed at seven yards from the resultant corner kick at the back post.

Leopard were more pressing in the second half, and the pace of Mthunzi was too much for Georgie Nergadze and Cornelus Kwakman at the back. But it was young defender Markus who committed a stupid error on the hour mark, tripping Mthunzi inside the box for penalty. Mlilo deftly converted to make the scoreline 2-0, and there was hope for a miraculous comeback. Ten minutes, after the introduction of Mathokoza, they levelled the score. Sizwe, who started ahead of Dennis Fakudze, beat his marker and ghosted into the six yards box before delivering a pint point low cross into the three yards for Tokyo to meet it with a diving header into the net.