(At King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium)
Rangers ................................ 0
Nsingizini Hotspurs ............ 1
Mlungisi 89th
NHLANGANO – They are breaking more records than plates this season.
Nsingizini Hotspurs continued their remarkable campaign yesterday by shaking off resilient regional rivals Rangers with a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the Shiselweni derby, successfully retaining their MTN Premier League crown.
The dramatic win, courtesy of a late strike from second-half substitute Mlungisi Hlatjwako, ensures the Shiselweni-based giants become only the second independent team outside of the security forces to achieve back-to-back league titles in the MTN Premier League era.
Hotspurs capitalised on a slip-up by their closest title chasers, Manzini Sea Birds, who were held to a goalless draw by relegation-threatened Malanti Chiefs.
The results leave the log leaders as uncrowned champions with two matches to spare, safely pocketing the E1.1 million winners’ prize alongside the E120 000 first-round incentive they secured earlier in the campaign.
Rangers suffocated the champions for the better part of the afternoon. Hotspurs clearly struggled in the final third due to the absence of last weekend’s Ingwenyama Cup hero Ayanda Gadlela and midfield maestro Yeki ‘Madumane’ Khumalo, who were both ruled out.
However, ‘Insingizi YeZulu’ left it late to spark wild celebrations among the 500-strong travelling supporters. Just when a draw seemed inevitable, the 27-year-old Hlatjwako clinically finished a late set-piece with only a minute left on referee Thulani Sibandze’s watch to ensure Mandla Qhogi’s side clinched a historic treble this season.
Previously, Mbabane Swallows were the only independent side to achieve back-to-back league titles under the MTN banner, doing so in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons, and again in 2016/17 and 2017/18.
Hotspurs’ current treble-winning feat also matches Swallows’ legendary 2012/13 campaign, where the ‘Birds’ swept the Castle Top 8 Cup, Eswatini Bank Cup and the league title. Hotspurs have additionally rewritten local history by winning the league’s first-round incentive before motoring on to lift the championship — a feat never achieved before.
The match itself was a balanced affair, with both sides boasting watertight defences that kept the score level until the interval.
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