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‘NUNU’, ‘RIO’ RULED OUT OF MTN LEAGUE

15/10/2022 07:12:00 Sanele Jele

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MBABANE – Capital City giants Mbabane Swallows and Mbabane Highlanders have been dealt a blow ahead of their respective games this evening.

This is after Swallows’ Sizolwethu ‘Nunu’ Shabalala and Highlanders’ Sisekelo ‘Rio’ Matsenjwa were declared unavailable for this evening’s clash against Denver Sundowns and Moneni Pirates, respectively during the double header billed for Mavuso Sports Centre. Moneni Pirates will be the first to take centre stage against Highlanders at 6pm, while Denver Sundowns host Mbabane Swallows at 8pm.

The coaches confirmed during a pre-match interview at Sigwaca House yesterday their players would not be available. ‘Birds’ Coach Musa Manyatsi said in a previous game against Young Buffaloes they lost Shabalala and Kingsley Kwaki due to injuries. “Nunu will not be available while the Kingsley has recovered,” said the coach.
Highlanders Coach Dumisani ‘DU’ Makhanya said they were having an almost full squad except for Sisekelo ‘Rio’ Matsenjwa who was still struggling with his injury. “Look, history will not count in this game and I am hoping that we claim the maximum points,” he said. Out of the seven past meetings, there were five draws and two wins for Highlanders.

Available

Asked if Bonginkosi ‘Manyovu’ Dlamini would be available, he said; “We have no comment about ‘Manyovu’. I am not going to talk about players who are not registered yet. I can only talk about those who are available.” Asked about the ambition of the team, he stated that every team’s dream was to win the league. “Our goal is to do well and collect as many points as we can,” he added. Highlanders Captain Khanyakezwe Shabalala said they wanted to do better than last season. “We have set our own standards last season and we need to maintain or do exceptionally well,” said the captain. Asked his personal ambition as last season he was crowned the Goalkeeper of the season, he said; “My team comes first before my own ambitions. Off course, I want to keep more clean sheets.”

Meanwhile, Moneni Pirates assistant coach said they were ready for the game. Meanwhile, the Captain Mbongeni Magagula said despite the injury, he was hoping that he would be ready on match day. He highlighted that big names would not count in games like this one. On the other hand, Captain Wonder ‘Samba Jive’ Nhleko said they needed to do better than in their previous game. “In our last game against Buffaloes we played well only to concede in the last minute. We need to improve on that and hopefully we do well in our game,” said Nhleko. Coach Ikarbot Masocha said their target was to finish in a better position than last season.