UNCROWNED CHAMPIONS!

(At Somhlolo National Stadium)

Sea Birds.................................(0)0
Swallows..................................(0)2
‘TT’ 60th, ‘Sikhali’ 76th

LOBAMBA – Winning is just in their DNA. It will now take something out of the ordinary to stop Mbabane Swallows from claiming the league title in May after stretching their winning streak to 16 in the same of the number of games.

The latest casualties are Manzini Sea Birds, who were also hoping to get blood out of a stone before losing 0-2 in yesterday’s MTN  Premier League ‘Y’ello Sunday’ clash at a nearly packed Somhlolo National Stadium.
Usual suspects in skipper Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze and leading goalscorer Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa, who is now on 16 goals, were on target as the capital city giants kept soaring higher.
Closest challengers, Young Buffaloes, who can go as far Swallows’ current 48- point tally if they can win all the remaining six games, can only hope for a miracle to be crowned the champions.

With a healthy goal difference of 28 between the sides, Swallows have to be thrashed by Moneni Pirates, Midas City, Red Lions, Tambuti, Manzini Wanderers, and Mbabane Highlanders by at least 4-0 for the unexpected to happen.
Bottom-placed Sea Birds, who are yet to hit double figures in their points tally, had goalkeeper Bafana Ngwenya to thank for keeping the score goal-less for at least an hour but it was the expected outcome as they eventually gave up pushing the water uphill with a rake.

Like in previous meetings with Swallows, the hosts were daring.
Their chances were headlined by Nkosikhona Tsabedze’s rocket, which had the Sihlangu shot-stopper, Sandile ‘Nkomishi’ Ginindza, stuttering at the goal line after the ball shaved the woodwork before bouncing back into the turf. 

The attempt had most of Swallows’ rivals calling for goal-line technology as they were not convinced that the ball did not cross the goal line. Unbelieving Sea Birds players also asked unanswered questions to match officials in disgust.
However, it was all Swallows in the opening period, with lanky forward Sandile Hlatshwako guilty of missing a bigger chunk of the about a dozen attempts while ‘Sikhali’ saw his drive evading everyone but not the cross bar.  However, the teams were firing blanks at the break.

With Swallows still stretching the opposition’s defence on resumption of play, it was matter of when and not if they would score. After another wave of attack, ‘TT’ was set up by ‘D4D’ in the box and the former blasted home from close range after he found himself with acres of space.

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