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‘BULL’ SA STARS AWOL

03/08/2021 08:36:00 ANDILE LANGWENYA

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MBABANE – All is not well at Mbabane Highlanders.

Their international stars including Captain Siphamandla Mlilo, Tshepo ‘Skhwama’ Matete and Siphamandla Sangweni have all gone (Absent Without Official Leave) awol in the club and they have not returned since the MTN break in late June. Highlanders have gone on to lose their grip for the top four in the MTN Premier League as they have failed to win a match in the past three matches losing 3-1 to Pigg’s Peak Black Swallows, 1-0 to Malanti Chiefs and a 1-all draw against Tambuti. The results have not been coming for their new coach in Ernest Mavuso and he had been missing the South African stars. Highlanders remained with one foreign player in South Africa’s Kenneth Moloto after the release of Johnson Mensah whose six-month contract expired last month.

A source close to the matter said the trio’s contracts were due to end at the end of the season, but they had since released themselves early in the club. This has raised concerns in the team as far as discipline is concerned. “The team has been playing without their South African players in ‘Skhwama’, Siphamandla and Mlilo in their recent matches as they are all not in the country. The three players left the country about four weeks ago and since then, they have not reported back. They were all regulars for Highlanders, of which makes their absence in the team a cause of the bad results,” said the source.

replaced

Mlilo has been replaced by striker Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa as captain as he has not been present in the club for three games now. The source said he reported an injury when he left the country. “The players’ contracts were about to come to end and we are made to believe that they will not come back for the three remaining games as they have already missed some crucial matches for the club. There was nothing serious said about their contract renewals as the team Director, Chief Ally Kgomongwe, is in South Africa as well,” said the source. There are also a number of players at Highlanders who are reported to be running out of contracts end of the season. According to Public Relations Officer (PRO) Mandla Madonsela, these three players went home to nurse the injuries they suffered while playing in the league.

“As Mbabane Highlanders, we are not aware of the players not returning, but what we are aware of is that they left three weeks back to recover from their injuries and they will return once the time is right,” Madonsela said. He said they would wait for the trio to return to the country. He further said the team would release a formal statement if it happened that players were released. Highlanders will play Mhlume Peacemakers tomorrow at KaLanga Technical Centre, kick-off 2:15pm and they will then play Denver Sundowns and Moneni Pirates in their last two fixtures.