SIHLANGU 22 GAMES WINLESS

MBABANE – In 1 980 minutes of football, Sihlangu has failed to win a game.

That is a total of 22 official games which the national team has played without a win since 2018. Former coach in Serbian mentor Kostadin Papic was in charge of Sihlangu starting late in 2018 and did not win any official game until the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) decided not to renew his one year contract last December.

Papic introduced exciting football in Eswatini but he was in a tough Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers group comprising African powerhouses Tunisia, Egypt and Niger.

The nation’s pride last won an international friendly away against Kenya beating them 1-0, courtesy of a Berry Steenkamp strike. At this time, Sihlangu was under the leadership of interim coach and now Sihlangu goalkeeper coach, Anthony Mdluli.

After the sacking of Papic, the EFA appointed former Young Buffaloes coach, Dominic Kunene and is assisted by former Moneni Pirates coach Gcina ‘Magiyane’ Dlamini. Due to COVID-19 which put all sporting codes at a halt in March all over the world, Kunene and his team did not have much to do as football was on hold.

As governments continue to ease COVID-19 restrictions, a number of countries, including Eswatini, have allowed top flight football to resume.

It is then that Kunene and his technical team started work and their first official assignment was last Thursday, away in Congo Brazzaville where they lost 0-2 in an AFCON Qualifiers’ fixture. This past Monday, Sihlangu played to a goalless draw against Congo Brazzaville in the return match at Mavuso Sports Centre.

Comment

Drawn for comment, the EFA Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe said the national team had not been coached by the same individual. “It has not been the same coach for Sihlangu since 2018. According to normal procedure, when a coach will take on an assignment, he will first present his plan to the EFA and then submit a report after the assignment,” he said.

Radebe said same was expected with Kunene and evaluation was based on those reports.  

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