Home | Sports | ‘BIRDS’ MOMENT OF TRUTH TODAY

‘BIRDS’ MOMENT OF TRUTH TODAY

Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font

My dearest readers ... So, there we have it.


Another humdinger CAF Confederation Cup match at Somhlolo National Stadium today when Mbabane Swallows host South Africa’s Platinum Stars in a make or break encounter that will have far reaching consequences in their dream of conquering Africa.
Entrance is free for the 7 000 lucky souls who would want to worship on the altar of football this afternoon.

Yes, you read it well; it’s not a misprint – absolutely FREE. All one has to do, is just turn up. It’s the first of its kind but then this is Mbabane Swallows Football Club, a team of firsts in every sphere. First team to win seven trophies in two seasons; first team to have a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the late Sibusiso Manana, first team to announce a E200 000 stipend to a late official’s family and most importantly, the first team to reach the group stage of any continental competition under the new format.

Mbabane Swallows Football Club’s history is rooted in the defiance of the odds. This is a characteristic you will find permeates, spans the peaks and troughs of the 69 years of the life of this oldest team among the country’s Big Three. It is not surprising that at one time in the past, due to the internal squabbles, two teams all claiming to be Mbabane Swallows turned up for a game at Somhlolo National Stadium. More details will be carried in the 70th commemorative book that I am still writing but the resilience, pushing the envelope, defying all odds is the cornerstone of this great club founded in 1948. Today, Tuesday, May 23, 2017, presents another chapter to the club’s chequered history when they come face to face with destiny.

They come up against South Africa’s Platinum Stars in a game that has the potential to decide their fate in the whole CAF sojourn. Needless to say a journey that has been marred by controversial refereeing decisions (perfect goal disallowed in Congo; two genuine penalty appeals turned down by a dim-witted Senegalese referee in Tunisia), glut of wonderful goals (jersey number 11, Banele ‘Pupu’ Sikhondze’s match winner deep in referee’s four minutes optional time against AC Leopards sweeter than a nectarine), edge-of-your-seats moments and unbelievable come-from-behind victories that bordered on pure football magic and beyond. It has been an exhilarating football journey and I am glad I have been part of it all the way. 

What a ride it has been. What thrills, what surprises, all the way through to the group stages, which began barely ten days ago with a slender 0-1 loss to three-time champions, CS Sfaxien at the beautiful Taieb Mhiri Stadium in central Sfax city where the ‘Birds’ put up a spirited fight and God knows, they deserved, at the very least, a credible away draw.
Today is the perfect place, the perfect history and of course a perfect crowd of guaranteed 7 000 fans, who would have gained free entry to root for Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati’s brave battalions.  For once, the hype and hyperbole is built on the firmest of foundations. 

‘This is the one’, as the Stone Roses sing before home games at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, Old Trafford as the best of Swaziland in this competition versus the best of Mzansi, our haughty neighbours who do not take us seriously in anything. SwaziBank Cup Champions versus the Rustenburg side, who qualified for this tournament after finishing last season on position three on the ABSA Premiership log. While a guaranteed 7 000 will cascade to the country’s soccer Mecca, millions more across the African continent will be watching on pay-per-view-channel, SuperSport 4. This is a match the competition wants, it is certainly the match the people want and it is the match history demands. It’s that moment of the tournament – squeaky bum time!


Four years after greatest manager of his generation, Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, one still can’t escape the necessity of the legendary Manchester manager’s famous quote. It’s that moment in the Group stages, never mind this being the second game, when you squirm so much in your seat that nerves turn into screeches. In reality, it’s the time when a single slip, solitary mistake or momentary lapse in concentration will be paid in blood, tears and silverware. To paraphrase legendary actor, Al Pacino’s famed sermon, “a mere inch can be the difference between living and dying.”


That’s why Swallows have a home record of being unbeaten in five years in these continental competitions because they need no reminder that if they harbour any dreams of reaching the knockout stage of the second-tier of CAF premium competition, they need to annex all maximum points at home. Impotent displays at home following each other like dominoes will not be acceptable especially if they display as much attacking impetus as a domesticated dassie. Luckily, the Swallows of Mbabane’s verve and vitality is well documented and the evidence thus far is irrefutable.

They always go out to win. The red and white glamour side has the attacking capability to worry any opponent and if Platinum Stars have a weakness, it is at the back. The return of that walking football brain box, jersey number 11 Banele ‘Pupu’ Sikhondze to infuse the creative juices in their play, overlapping runs of right full back Sifiso Mabila and signing of both ‘Msholozi’ Mdluli and Ndumiso Ndaba will fortify their rear-guard. Cavin Johnson’s side are not a bad side either. They play a fast, high pressing game with real, technical excellence.

They are also a true counter-attacking team. Their 2-0 defeat of Kaizer Chiefs last Wednesday is full testimony to this. Enoch Mkhabela poses a real threat, so is former Buccaneer Solomon Mathe. The mere fact that the South African side already has a point in the group after playing to a 1-all draw with Algeria’s MC Alger means a draw today, for them, would not be catastrophic. For Swallows, anything besides victory, will leave their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages on a life-support system waiting for a family member to pull the plug. This indeed, for the ‘Birds’, is a platinum moment of truth. Kubo Mkhonto Ka-Shaka!

Comments (0 posted):

Post your comment comment

Please enter the code you see in the image: