BULL-ISH ’LANDERS ROAST ‘WESLIANS’

LOBAMBA – Honey-throated Mbabane Highlanders joyful fans rose in salute, club PRO Paul ‘Magidzeludzakeni’ Masilela gyrated like a ballet dancer, the stadium DJ fittingly played local artist heart-throb Sands’s hit track, ‘Tigi’ to mark the start of the 2017/18 MTN Premier League in spectacular fashion.

How ironic that the famed ‘Tigi’ song perfectly mirrored the sound of the country’s most successful club, Highlanders trampling on a hapless Manzini Wanderers in a glowing 4-1 thrashing which left the ‘Inkunzi’ supporters purring in admiration of their beloved team in the opening league game of the season. The bumbling ‘Weslians’ were hypnotised and left in a tailspin.
Earlier on, in a one-sided encounter, Manzini Sundowns had set the tone with the 4-0 massacre of a listless Red Lions, who looked anything but destined to be the tail enders of this year’s league log standings with each passing minute of the mundane clash. Over 8 000 fans had cascaded to the national stadium, including the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala, Prince Majaha who belted a wall-to-wall smile watching his beloved ‘Black Bull’ with flamboyance, finesse and flair dissect a comatose Wanderers like a rabbit in a science lab tutorial. 

Maybe it will be fair to say the rousing scoreline itself was flattering to Highlanders as Alou Badara’s charges are a work in progress and yesterday they found Wanderers shambolic and defensively, at their wits end. For all their determination and endurance, the maroon and white outfit, whose fans had filled the northern grandstand to the rafters, blew their gasket in midfield and had a defence that had more holes than Swiss cheese.
Before conceding the two late goals, the ‘Weslians’ had fluffed two glittering chances, including a horrendous miss by new recruit Mike Dombo, who failed to convert from three yards, an opportunity most grandmothers around the country would have converted blind-folded while leaning on their walking sticks.

It was a difference between everlasting glory and the ignominy of a crunching defeat – the worst defeat since they lost 6-0 to Mbabane Swallows in the second round of the 2015/16 season.
What was billed as the main-match in the triple-header between defendNeither side deserved to win after a subdued performance well handled by referee Thembinkosi Dlamini who was firm in his decisions.
Swallows, the ‘invincibles’ of last season’s league, lacked the cutting edge upfront - in the absence of top striker Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa - and the creative juices of the injured jersey number 11, Banele ‘Pupu’ Sikhondze.
The club boss, Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze was also conspicuously missing.

The ‘Birds’ were a pale shadow of the all-conquering machine that crushed everything before it last season. Yesterday, they were ‘Van Damme’ on crutches.
If truth be told, it was Premier League rookies Matsapha United who set the scene alight on Friday night by trashing Royal Leopard 2-0 to announce their arrival in the elite league in sensational fashion.
After the first week of the MTN league, the impressive turn-out from the terraces, glut of goals, some enterprising football, the MTN league 2017/18 season promises to be one of the most exciting in the 15 years the mobile telecommunications company partnered with the game of the billions.

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