SIHLANGU MARCH OVER LESOTHO

RUSTERNBURG - Sihlangu players dance as they celebrate the first goal scored by Xolani ‘Chocco’ Sibandze. (Pic: Ntokozo Magongo, Courtesy of Nando’s)

(In Rustenburg, SA, courtesy of Nando’s)

Lesotho......................................(0)
Sihlangu................................... (2)
Chocco 43rd , Mthunzi 65th

RUSTENBURG – Sihlangu have come off age, period. The fairytale continued last night under extraordinary circumstances again when Sihlangu made light work of Lesotho before beating then 2-0 in a free flowing COSAFA Cup encounter played at the 42 000 capacity Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace.

It was yet another brilliant showing by the squad after few gave them a realistic chance against better ranked countries in Tanzania and Lesotho.  Sihlangu seem to have matured overnight. They have proven in  the tournament’s opening two games that they are no longer the whipping boys the region has come to know them to be. Instead, they are now favourites to go through and meet Ghana following yet another near faultless performance last night.

Xolani ‘Chocco’ Sibandze gave Sihlangu the lead two minutes before the break.  It was a simple tap in – a pass into an empty net after a stinging shot by Mxolisi ‘General’ Lukhele hit the crossbar before rebounding back into play. Sibandze was on hand to finish expertly and give Sihlangu a crucial advantage just before the break.  Sihlangu coach Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga had made only one change to the team that had done a near faultless job against Tanzania in the opening game on Monday evening. Bulunga gave Mxolisi ‘General Lukhele the nod ahead of Njabulo ‘D4D’ Ndlovu. Squad skipper Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze thought he had opened the scoring for Sihlangu with about 20 minutes played. He rattled the net with a trademark shot inside the danger area but his effort was ruled offside by the second assistant referee Akhtar Rossaye.

Hardly a minute later, Sihlangu got their best chance.  However, Xolani ‘Chocco’ Sibandze inexplicably shot way off target when scoring seemed the easier option. Penalty appeals by Sihlangu fell on Zambian referee Wisdom Chewe moments later when Sihlangu midfielder, Zweli ‘Mlilo’ Nxumalo appeared to be pushed inside the danger area by a Lesotho defender.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: