‘BIRDS’ FLY OVER ‘WESLIANS’

Swallows.....................................2
Sikhali 52nd, Tony 54th
Wanderers..................................0

LOBAMBA – In football, if you do not score goals when the chances are there, the most likely thing to happen is getting punished by your opposition.

This serves true for Manzini Wanderers who had all the golden chances in the first half to bury Mbabane Swallows in their pulsating MTN Premier League clash who were punished severely by the on form capital city giants and log leaders –not even the strong lightning that forced the match to a 30 minutes break before it resumed again could save the hub’s Weslians the blushes.

No one else could do it better for Swallows other than Sabelo ‘Sikhali’Ndzinisa who continued his goalscoring form when he opened the scoring in the 52nd minute with a solid header when he rose behind defenders to nod home a Wonder ‘Samba Jive’ Nhleko right wing cross.

His goal seemed to wake a sleeping giant as Swallows had been restricted in the first half thanks to the crucial saves by their keeper Sandile ‘Nkomishi’ Ginindza. It was all that Swallows needed, a goal and the floodgates opened up.
Two minutes later, it was 2-0, courtesy of a Tony Tsabedze close range goal which beat the keeper Mbongeni Motsa, who could not be blamed for lashing out at his defence that let the scorer cut in past them like a hot knife on butter.

Wanderers continued to miss chance after chance when the match resumed from the break but Sifiso Matse and his brother Ali were all guilty of missing gilt-edged chances. In the end, it was a game that nearly resembled the one Swallows played against pleasing football masters Moneni Pirates on Wednesday night in the same venue – Pirates did the playing but Swallows got the goals to win 4-0.
It was Wanderers who started the game like a house on fire, getting all the clear-cut chances, but Nkomishi stood firm between the poles, denying Taribo face to face and Aladeon Kola inside six yards while Sifiso Matse blasted over the bar when scoring looked easier – all inside the opening 25 minutes.

Swallows had not threatened much save for a denied Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa close range header from a Tony Tsabedze effort that beat keeper Mbongeni Motsa but came off the bar in the 19th. Earlier on in the first minute, Nkomishi nearly gifted his former team an easy goal when an intended forward pass by Wanderers’ defender Tafadzwa Jaravani took a dangerous bump on the turf and beat him as he was out of his goal but was lucky to see it go just inches wide off target.
The match was played under cool weather before a lively crowd of an estimated more or less 4 000 fans dominated by Wanderers, who occupied the Mbabane Highlanders’ grandstand while the hordes of Umkhonto KaShaka fans had also come in numbers and cheered their side on with their singing and whistling.

It was a great atmosphere at the stadium even before the match, with a group of Wanderers’ supporters entering the rivals’ stand to greet them and they were well accepted with hugs and waves as opposed to the usual missile throwing you would witness on another day, but credit should go to the red and white who proved they were not hooligans.

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