THEY CAME, THEY SAW AND THEY CONQUERED

My dearest readers ... Roses are red, violets are blue. For red read Mbabane Swallows and for blue read Royal Leopard.

I am not inspired by the spirit of this ultra-commercialised Valentine’s Day because inside the Pandora’s Box, every morning is Christmas Day, every day is Valentine’s Day and every night is New Year’s Eve. I am a bag of mixed emotions following our team representatives in the CAF Club competitions over the weekend.

While Swallows ended their own rot in CAF Club competitions with the first away victory extending their unbeaten run to 26 matches in all competitions, Royal Leopard lost 0-1 to DR Congo’s AS Vita in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions league to make the return leg away in Kinshasa a mountain to climb.

Leopard, as they have done all season, failed to come to the party against a below par AS Vita who were just content with the lone goal to wrap up the game.
Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane’s charges defended well too deep and failed to pressurise the visitors who, it must be said, played well below par.

AS Vita officials and players are on record saying they will finish up the business at home and given their past records, Leopard would have to double their efforts if they are to stand any remote chance against a team that is impossible to beat at their fortress, the 80 000-seater Stade des Martyrs. I went to that iconic stadium with Sihlangu on November 15 in 2011 when we were hammered 5-1, and realised why the Congolese national team had not lost a game at home in 32 years then.

There are few intimidating stadiums in the world than that cauldron of football, which was filled to the rafters by 1pm. That is the kind of atmosphere Leopard will face in Kinshasa and all things considered the current limping Leopard side will find it extremely difficult to cope. I don’t mean to alarm you but Leopard would need all the energy they can muster to cause an upset against a team regarded as one of the best in Africa. Good luck to ‘Nuro’ and his boys because surely they will need dollops of it.

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