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COULD THIS BE ‘BULL’S SEASON?

25/02/2020 00:59:00 BY Lwazi's Pandora's Boxs

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My dearest readers ...

The nature of sports nay football is such that it is rooted in the ebb: the highs and lows, reviews and reversals. Once in a while sports fans witness moments to savour as their favourite sports team achieves something special that lives long in the minds of those who witnessed it. Manchester United’s 1999 European Champions League final triumph, Liverpool’s Instabul Champions league victory in 2005, Arsenal’s Invincibles of 2004, Orlando Pirates Football Club’s double Treble 2010-11, 2011-2012 and closer to home, Mbabane Swallows 51-game unbeaten run over two full seasons. Historic.

It might be pale into insignificance but, in a small way, it is in that respect that today’s State-of-the-Nation-Sports-Address (SONSA) will buck the trend and pay tribute, without a shadow of doubt, to the country’s football aristocrats, MBABANE HIGHLANDERS.
It may be premature as the curtain is yet to fall on what has been a distinctively competitive and unpredictable 2019-2020 season, but the ‘Black Bull’ resurgence has been remarkable and hard to ignore.

unanimous

For the past decade, it is unanimous that Highlanders were anonymous. Before the 2019 EswatiniTelecom Charity Cup triumph on August 11, there had been zero trophies since they last won a domestic Cup double in 2010, the EswatiniBank Cup and EswatiniTelecom Charity Cup under the stewardship of my good friend Ngomuyayona Gamedze. A sweet-tongued man, who like his dearly departed friend, Joseph ‘Jazzman’ Shongwe, had a gift of the gab so smooth he could sell fire to the devil and ice to an Eskimo at astronomical prices.

A decade of famine made worse by their bitter rivals, Mbabane Swallows, under dearly departed shrewd businessman Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze, winning a boutique of 15 trophies in the last decade. It was too excruciating to stomach for those of the black and white persuasion among us.

They changed Management Committees faster than the drop-dead gorgeous Natasha Thahane changes her hairstyle. They watched in disbelief even when they reached finals, ending up as a bridesmaid. For a team that since formation in 1962, had been known as ‘Cup Kings’ and an unmatched record of being the ‘most successful team in the country’ owing to their remarkable annexing of 12 league titles, the past decade has been in an enduring agony.
A report of a missing team should have been filed.

Who: Mbabane Highlanders
Last seen: In 2010 when they won the EswatiniBank Cup and EswatiniTelecom Charity Cup.

Contrast

Until August 11, 2019, the Highlanders lite performances were a stark contrast to the great Highlanders of old. I am talking of the Highlanders of Puma Kunene, of Stanley Matsebula, of Nichodemus ‘Ace’ Mashwama, of Jani ‘Be Good’ Simulambo, of Robson Dlakubi, of Tholeni ‘Schuster’ Nkambule, of Phumuza ‘El Khatib’ Ntshangase, of Lucky ‘Masomalenhle’ Dlamini, of Charles ‘Mnumzane’ Masango, of Bham Bham Dhladhla, of Humphrey Mkhonta, of Kgotso Mncanyane, of Sifiso ‘Barnes’ Mkhulisi to mention but a few of the greats who donned the famed black and white kit of ‘Inkunzemnyama’.

The Highlanders lite were doing a shoddy job for the past decade. Granted, it is not wise comparing two teams from different eras but even by their own admission the current team cannot hold the candle to the class of the 1980s. Now that group was special, love or loathe them. They made their foes walk the plank in unforgiving fashion. They were men who knew there was no rain in the army but an army in the rain.

flamboyant

That was then. This is now. Enter the flamboyant Ally Kgomongwe as the new club boss on a five-year contract around July last year. He announced his arrival not just by the awkward hand-waving grand entrances in the stadiums but by ending Highlanders nine-year trophy drought when the ‘Black Bull’ beat Manzini Wanderers 2-0 in the EswatiniTelecom Cup final.

It was Highlanders’ first trophy since they beat the self-same Wanderers on August 8, 2010, courtesy of a 77th minute goal by the then striker Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini but where records are concerned, Highlanders also joined Mbabane Swallows and Royal Leopard as record four-time winners of the season opener.
Granted, the season opener, the EswatiniTelecom Charity Cup, as you would expect – after a two month break – is a cobwebby, uninspiring football business. The passing is wonky, the touches more worthy of a buffalo than a footballer. But there is no doubt, it was a gentle entry into the hurly-burly of the new season but the fans must have gone home with mixed feelings of what is in store for their respective teams.

To Highlanders’ credit, they did the business. Like the Highlanders of old, were a middling, workmanship-like team, which did not play the best of football but know it is the final product – goals, which decide games.

This has come to define Highlanders under the stewardship of Kgomongwe and technical bench headed by Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati. The manner in which they stormed into the finals of the Ingwenyama Cup for the second successive year is the stuff of legends. They face unpredictable Green Mamba in the final on March 8 at Somhlolo National Stadium, knowing victory will confirm a double for them this season.

The ‘Black Bull’ 2-0 win over Manzini Wanderers on Sunday was typical Highlanders – no frills, no thrills. They are just doing the business. Of course nothing is guaranteed in the topsy-turvy world of football but the excitement among their fans is not misplaced. God forbid, it could all end in tears. Green Mamba could inject the same medicine as they did in the EswatiniBank Cup final in 2012; there is no guarantee they will go on and win the EswatiniBank Cup. But this Highlanders side has ‘THAT THING’ dripping in its DNA. Lest we forget, Highlanders history is secured in our football.

They are the aristocrats and the barometer of local football, by a long mile. The only team to win 12 league titles – only Leopard and Swallows come close with six league trophies – and they have also now joined Swallows and Leopard as record fourth time winners of the EswatiniTelecom Charity Cup.

Now, as things stand, Highlanders is on the threshold of a remarkable treble. One is already in the bag, two to go. In the next two months, it could be achieved or it could all go pear-shaped. But given the nine dreary years, there is no doubt the country’s football aristocrats are back on football’s top table. Most importantly, Highlanders, as things stand, are sustaining conversations in all platforms.
Could this be Highlanders’ season to remember? We are watching with keen interest. GWAZA NKUNZI!