‘BIRDS’ HAVE COME OF AGE IN SPOOKY AFRICAN JUNGLE

My dearest readers ... Bonjour  ... as they say in French-speaking Congo.

Hahahahaha ... when the heart-drenching picture of England’s best player of his generation, Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne weeping like an abandoned baby was plastered on the front pages of all sports newspapers around the globe after a World Cup penalty defeat to the old enemy Germany in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the whole of United Kingdom cried with him. 
As an impressionable youth at the time, my love for the country that gave birth to football, England was entrenched (needless to say Born United, Live United and Die United)and to this day I am not afraid to say one of the biggest posters of a football player I have ever had decorating my bedroom wall was of that walking football brain box, ‘Gazza-matazz’ I had got from a ‘Shoot’ magazine at the time.

My mind traced back to that fateful evening back in 1990 as I sat shell-shocked on Sunday in Congo inside the cauldron of the sorry excuse for a stadium named Deni Sassou Ngesso, at the densely populated enclave of biting poverty Kimong District called Dolisie at the sound of the final whistle by visually impaired Burundian match officials, centre referee Ndabihawenimana Pacifique and his two assistants Jean Claude Birumushahu and Kakunze Herve.
You had to be an Eskimo if the tears rolling down on the face of an inconsolable Swallows wing wizard, Kingu Nakouho Mydo didn’t melt your heart as the bow-legged Congolese was comforted by his equally bewildered teammates seconds after seeing his wondrous headed goal being disallowed on stoppage time by second assistant referee, Herve.

It was the best headed goal I have seen since Malawian born player/coach Kina ‘Electric Man’ Phiri headed a similar screamer against Mbabane Highlanders in a Castle Lager league match at Somhlolo National Stadium in the early 1990s. Mydo, who came in and injected life to Swallows attacking play, threw himself in the air yards onside while not one, but two other opposition defenders watched as he connected a Banele ‘Pupu’ Sikhondze deceptive cross, which would have defied all the rules of geometry, to beat the goalkeeper at the near post from almost the D-line.

Even this most fastidious critic of the beautiful game, the grandson of Mlonyeni was, for the first time, left bewildered, shell-shocked, peeved and livid by a refereeing decision by a match official since I discovered babies did not fall from aeroplanes as my dearly departed father (the biggest Manzini Wanderers supporter I know and he must be turning in his grave at the latest events at the club) told me. 
I do not think I have seen a more abhorrent refereeing decision since Mamelodi Sundowns were robbed of the E1 million first prize money of the Rothmans Cup by a dubious refereeing decision by a first assistant referee, who flagged offside a glaring legitimate goal by Joel ‘Fire’ Masilela, which saw that other Soweto team whose name would break this laptop if I were to type it here, taking the Cup.

I still vividly recall The Star headline the next morning, ‘E1 million mistake!’
Even that incident does not come anywhere close to what happened on Sunday in the poverty-stricken Congo, where a majority of the citizens - though I am also black and proud - are so pitch black they look like two midnights put together.
Earlier on, the gutsy Swallows, who had shown a lot of spirit, passion, will, longing and at times, raw emotion in this tense encounter, had seen first assistant referee contrive to deny midfielder Njabulo ‘D4D’ Ndlovu a clear passage on goal after dribbling the last defender, coming from deep inside his own half with the ball, flag for a shocking offside call. It made my heart boil. But for the stoppage time disallowed goal, which could have given Swallows a credible draw and a crucial away goal, I was simply gutted. Words alone, do not tell half the incredible story. I even saw Pay-per-view Supersport TV analyst, Thomas ‘TK’ Kwenaite, the doyen of the African soccer scribes, remove his glasses to see if his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

Kwenaite assured me this robbery will be highlighted on Thursday’s Soccer Africa show. Do not miss it!
In his post match comments, Swallows coach Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati, like his captain Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze concurred that this is African football at its worst. Even the opposition coach, Rodger Ossete Elie admitted the red and white glamour side deserved a draw even though he didn’t want to dwell on the refereeing decision, saying it was not his area to comment on.
“Of course, you are the benefactor you son of a gun!” I whispered to myself during the press conference held at the makeshift press room of the dilapidated stadium, which looks like an abandoned house at the heart of Mgababa.
One thing is certain though, in the midst of all the cues and hues of Swallows being robbed, the Swallows of Mbabane can take heart for standing their own against a more illustrious opposition, who actually won the self-same CAF Confederations Cup in 2012.
Swallows’ experience in taking baby steps in the unforgiving and challenging African football jungle has added steel in their resolve.

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