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‘BIRDS’ SCRAPE THROUGH

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(At Somhlolo National Stadium)

Mb. Swallows……………….(1) 1
Felix 5th
Bantu F.C…………………..(1) 3
Tsietsi 4th, Marabe 84th, Litsepe 89th

(Aggregate score 5-5, but Swallows advance on away goal rule)

LOBAMBA – There was a visible air of exasperation accompanying the disappointed home fans despite that Mbabane Swallows have scraped through to the next round of the CAF Champions League for the first time in their history.


The over 5 000 home fans who cascaded to the Mecca of Swazi football – the Somhlolo National Stadium, could not be faulted for feeling hard done by what was Swallows worst performance in Africa in a long time.
Talk of a tactically disjointed side and a confused technical bench.


This was the Mbabane Swallows of yesterday, at the venue where they lost 3-1 against rookies in CAF football.
In fact, the club’s last home defeat was against the experienced SC Sfaxien of Tunisia in the CAF Confederation Cup group stages in July last year. It was a credible defeat against a top notch Africa side.


But to lose to Bantu F.C was never expected and accepted by many who had come to the stadium, hoping to see the ‘Beautiful Birds’ finishing what it started 10 days ago in Maseru when they won 4-2.
And thanks to that emphatic first leg win away from home, Swallows could now be out of the competition. They have scraped through on an away goal from the 5-5 aggregate scoreline.


The patriotic home fans were left asking themselves, what really went horribly wrong yesterday? What happened to the majority of the team’s senior players who did not come to the party?  Who had bewitched coach Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati for controversially pulling out goalscorer Felix Badenhorst for Sizolwethu Shabalala, when it was glaring that the former  was worshipped by the visiting Basotho side after tormenting them in the first leg? Or should I add the porous as sieve defence led by Mandla Palma that was tormented by the trio of Peter Ramasimong, Hlompho Kalake and Litsepe Marape throughout the afternoon.


All the above just summed up why Swallows needed to hold on for dear life to progress to the next round of the competition, where they are likely to face Zanaco F.C of Zambia who are away in Gambia on Saturday.  Overall, it was an open game that had plenty of chances from both sides but, Bantu F.C were quick to control the midfield which they had flooded with five players against Swallows’ three. But the first chance fell for Felix, who unmarked at 10 yards, directed a header narrowly wide from a Sandile Hlatshwako’s cross, two minutes into the game. Bantu did not waste time on the opposite, when a quick move saw Tsebang Lebata floating a cross into the 16 yards, which striker Tsietsi Motsaere flicked over Sandanezwe Mathabela, who had strayed out of his goal line.


Swallows responded from the restart, with Felix finishing off at five yards, a cross from Sanele Mkhweli that Tony Tsabedze controlled at 10 yards and rolled onto the scorer’s path. The quick equaliser eased the tension that was beginning to build from jittery of the Palma marshalled defence. It could have been 2-1 for Bantu, 19 minutes into the game, when a poorly cleared cross fell on Litsepe, whose goal bound shot was cleared off the line by Palma.

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