ONE HAND ON THE TROPHY
Swallows................................... (2)3
‘Sikhali’ 13th, 35th, ‘TT’ 57th
Buffaloes................................... (0)1
‘Mshengu’ 81st
LOBAMBA – They are just relentless. Trying to stop rampant Mbabane Swallows is just tantamount to fitting a square peg into a round hole.
Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati’s troops did not play their best game but still had the verve to record their 13th victory of the season after the same number of matches. Parading an unchanged team, they brushed aside a wilful Young Buffaloes, cruising to a 3-1 win in the MTN Premier League Y’ello Sunday clash at Somhlolo National Stadium.
Usual ‘predator’, Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa, who netted a brace in the opening period to bring his tally for the season to 14 before setting up skipper Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze, ensured the capital city giants’ flawless record remained intact.
Unlike in previous games, Swallows did not engage the second gear as they were gifted the first two goals by Sihlangu goalkeeper, Nhlanhla Gwebu.
The latter stuttered in the box after failing to deal with a deceptive Sifiso Mabila cross from the right wing; with ‘Sikhali squeezing the ball between his legs with the simplest of touches.
Gwebu was also exposed 22 minutes later, after allowing the burly forward’s curled effort from the left wing to easily slip from his hands.
Buffaloes, who made one change from the team that beat Red Lions by 2-0 in the last fixture; dropping Ndumiso ‘King Masetha’ Dlamini, for the equally attacked-minded Sifiso Mazibuko, were unlucky as they had physically matched the illustrious opponents. They had only Nhlanhla ‘Mshengu’ Kunene’s out of the blue 81st minute strike to show for their close to a dozen shots on target.
The away side had glorious chances to beat the opposition for the first time in 729 days in the league, especially trusted forward, Ndoda Mthethwa, who kept bringing the best out of the Swallows and national team shot-stopper. His opportunities in the first half were headlined by the venomous shot from the edge of the box which was wiped to safety by ‘Nkomishi. Swallows’ two-goal cushion at the break was courtesy of the two soft goals.
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