FANELO FIRES LEOPARD TO VICTORY

MBABANE – Royal Leopard second half substitute Fanelo Tsabedze came off the bench to fire the police side to their seventh win in a row as they overcame a hard fighting Manzini Sea Birds by a solitary goal here yesterday.

Tsabedze, who came in three minutes before the hour-mark for below par Thabiso Mokenkoane, fired home from the edge of the box a low show which hit the foot of the post on its way into the net, leaving Sea Birds goalkeeper Bafana Ngwenya sprawled helplessly on the turf.

Powerless

Ngwenya had kept the Manzini side in the game with a series of daring saves, but was powerless in stopping the treacherous shot which condemned the Gcina Dlamini-led side to their second successive loss and saw them drop one place on the log standings to position six. It was a hard fought victory for the police side who maintained the pressure on log leaders, Young Buffaloes, who trashed Mhlume Peacemakers 4-0 at Tambankulu Stadium yesterday, where towering striker Phiwa Dlamini became the first scorer of a hat-trick in this enthralling 2020/2021 season.

Edwin Matsebula’s charges remain two points behind Buffaloes with a game in hand after yesterday’s seventh victory in a row. It was a game of two halves with Sea Birds creating a number of chances in the first half and Leopard piling the pressure in the second half. Thabiso Mokenkoane could have given ‘Ingwe Mabalabala’ the lead in the 49th minute, but his glancing header from a Melusi Mkhwanazi cross went inches wide.

Save

Sea Birds goalkeeper, Bafana Ngwenya pulled off a great save in the 52nd minute when he blocked a pint-blank Junior Magagula shot inside the box. Again, in the 72nd minute, Ngwenya made another good save, denying Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini his sixth goal of the campaign from close range. However, he could not do anything to stop Fanelo Tsabedze blistering shot seven minutes later as it hit the post, nestling at the far right corner of the net to keep Leopard in the hunt for the E350 000 first round ‘carrot’.

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