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LEAGUE BOUNCES BACK IN STYLE

08/03/2022 08:26:00 Ntokozo Magongo

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MBABANE – After a two-week break, the MTN Premier League bounced back with a bang.

Seven matches were played with one to be played tomorrow to complete the ‘WEEK 16’ round of fixtures that is between Royal Leopard and Milling Hot Spurs. Week 16 of the league saw the return of Mbabane Highlanders Manager Simiso ‘Space’ Jele back on the bench after surviving a car crash in South Africa more than a week ago. ‘Bull’ striker, Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa was back on his best as he snatched the man of the match award in the 4-2 win against Manzini Wanderers and also increased his goal tally to 15. In other shocking results, bottom placed Malanti Chiefs won 2-0 against Denver Sundowns while Tambuti got the better of Rangers as they beat them 2-1 in their attempt to survive the dreaded axe.

Supporters come together

It looks like now the country’s super fans are one big family. They came together on Saturday at the Mavuso Sports Centre and donated about E1 000 towards one of their own in Manzini Wanderers fan Sidumo Ngwenya. Ngwenya was injured during the political unrest last year in June and since then he has been moving in and out of hospital. One Royal Leopard fan Madlakadlaka Dladla said they wanted to show that they are not enemies but friends despite supporting different teams. He said they will continue doing so even to other members who are in need. Thumbs up to the supporters and that is the way to go, taking care of each other.

Teqball at MTN League

The Eswatini Teqball Federation (ETF) got the chance to showcase their sport to the over 500 football supporters that cascaded to the Mavuso Sports Centre on Saturday for the double header. The sport display was held by the half time of the Tambankulu Callies 2-1 win over Moneni Pirates and same during Highlanders 4-2 win over Manzini Wanderers. Part of those who displayed their skills in front of the fans included a former football player who is ETF President Mfanafuthi ‘Taribo’ Bhembe. It’s good to see sports coming together. The Athletics Eswatini (AE) is missing in action while it has an MoU with PLE to stage some competitions during matches. We hope to also see them in action soon during the games.

Thumbs up to MTN

MTN Eswatini made sure that the kick-off of the second round started on a high. They were present in the double header at the Mavuso Sports Centre, where they rendered some of their services to the over 500 supporters present. It was impressive to see excelling players being awarded with the man of the match awards. Tambankulu Callies’ Vusi Mavuso was the best player in the 2-1 win over Moneni Pirates while Mbabane Highlanders’ Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa took home the man of the match award, after his sterling performance against Manzini Wanderers where the black and white outfit won 4-2. We hope to see more of this vibe.

Perfect start for Malanti, Tambuti

Malanti Chiefs and Tambuti’s quest to survive the axe started high in the second round as they recorded victories. Malanti Chiefs shocked Denver Sundowns 2-0 while Tambuti won 2-1 against Rangers. The two teams have been inter-changing in occupying the bottom place on the log standings. They both have 12 points and four points away from safety. Other relegation-threatened teams include Moneni Pirates, Milling Hot Spurs, Denver Sundowns, Tinyosi and Rangers. All those teams have not reached the 20 points mark despite having played over half of the remaining games.

Welcome back ‘Space’

It was heart-warming to see the premier league’s youngest manager, Mbabane Highlanders Simiso ‘Space’ Jele back and doing his duties on Saturday when they beat Manzini Wanderers 2-1 at the Mavuso Sports Centre. Jele survived a car crash over a week ago in South Africa. His team handed him a good present as they won the match. Jele watched the 0-2 defeat by Royal Leopard on the stands as he had not fully recovered by that time. He was part of the technical bench led by South African coach Seloatsi Mosala and he joined the team in celebrations after the victory that sent them back to the top of the table again.

‘Sikhali’ back with a bang

He was back on his form to propel his side to a 4-2 comeback win over hapless Manzini Wanderers on Saturday at the Mavuso Sports Centre. That is non-other than Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa who took home the man of the match award and also added his 15th goal of the season. Ndzinisa made it to our team of the week where he is joined by his teammate, Sibusiso Lukhele who netted a brace. Despite the loss, Manzini Wanderers forward, Fabrice Mopina has a space in our team of the weekafter his sensational performance that saw him scoring a brace in the 4-2 defeat.

COME TO THINK OF IT:

Highlanders’ striker Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa is now five goals ahead of nearest challenger, Muzi Tsabedze of Manzini Sea Birds. He is four goals away from reaching his last season’s 19 goal-tally. Manzini Wanderers are now winless in seven games. The last victory was a 2-0 win over Denver Sundowns at the Mavuso Sports Centre on New Year’s Day and the ‘Weslians’ are a distant 16 points behind log leaders, Highlander. Moneni Pirates, now under the stewardship of top Lawyer, Gigi Reid, have lost four games in a row Last season’s top goal-scorer, Phiwa Dlamini, with 23 goals has only scored two goals this season. Last season’s Player of the Year Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini of Royal Leopard is yet to score a goal this season.

Star of the week

Felix ‘Fela’ Badenhorst (Mbabane Swallows)

The talismanic Mbabane Swallows scored two goals against Green Mamba to bring the ‘Beautiful Birds’ back in the title race and increased his goal-tally to eight.