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‘WESLIANS’ NOT INTIMIDATED BY FIERCE-LOOKING LEOPARD

01/08/2014 04:58:00 BY DUMISANI NTIWANE

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Manzini Wanderers want a fourth Swazi Telecom Charity Cup Spectacular title even with last season’s quadruple champions Royal Leopard on the way.

The hub giants boast of most wins in the tournament alongside fallen giants Mbabane Highlanders, having both won the competition thrice.
The maroon and white outfit tasted Charity Cup glory in the tournament’s inaugural year in 2002, 2003 and they also won it in 2005.
It has been nine full years since they last won the tournament.

In fact, it has been a while since the hub giants lifted any silverware but with the arrival of new Malawian coach Charles Manda, there is hope the heavyweights could end their trophy drought and starting with Leopard on Sunday. Wanderers need to start winning.

New coach, Manda, is unfazed by the prospects of meeting the quadruple champions in his first official game since arriving in the country.
He disclosed shortly after their afternoon training session that they will also bank their hopes on the team’s huge support.
Indeed, Wanderers’ fanatical supporters can go a long way in helping to unsettle the police outfit on Sunday at the Somhlolo National Stadium when both giants clash head-on in the preliminaries of the Swazi Telecom Charity Cup Spectacular.

The training:

According to Manda, yesterday afternoon’s training session concentrated mostly on tactics and as such he felt uncomfortable discussing his tactics publicly.
He, however, assured that his boys have been fined-tuned to play against the best.
“We are aware we are facing quadruple champions and the game will be very tough. But we strongly believe that to be the best we have to beat the best. Come Sunday, my players will be ready to fight on the field of play,” said Manda.

The mood:

Manda was not shy to reveal that the mood in his team’s camp is at breaking point as all the players were focussed and ready for the job at hand. His plea was to the team’s supporters to come in numbers to rally behind the team.

Casualty ward:

Coach Manda happily revealed that none of their players were on the injury list. “We have a full house and everyone is here and raring to go. We have no injuries in camp and the players are fit for the game on Sunday,” said the Malawian.

Missing in action:

At Wanderers, there is still no sign of the former Mbabane Highlanders duo of striker Msimisi ‘SMS’ Ncanywa and attacking midfielder Vuyani ‘Mascherano’ Mazibuko. Mazibuko was a regular in the Wanderers’ squad that eventually finished the season on the third spot of the MTN League standings, while Ncanywa is yet to appear for them in an official game since signing on the dotted line.

Coach’s corner:

Charles Manda:
“As I said earlier on, our preparations are going on very well. The good thing is that everyone is focussed and raring to go. Our supporters should come in numbers for the game and we will not disappoint them. “We need the supporters to come in numbers for the game so that they can be able to cheer the boys to victory. We have to beat the best to be the best and we have been fine-tuning our players to be the best since we started training. It will be a very tough game but we are optimistic that we will do well. “Our new players are also doing well and they seem to have settled in nicely. We will see what Sunday has in store for us but our fans must come in numbers to get behind the club.