SIHLANGU LOSE ‘TWO’

(At Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace)
In Rustenburg, Courtesy of Castle Lager Swaziland

Swaziland………......………(0) 1,
Badenhorst 47th
Zimbabwe……......…………(1) 2,
Karuru 16th, Mutizwa 78th

PHOKENG – Misery likes company. Barely two hours after the country’s CAF Confederation Cup envoys, Mbabane Swallows suffered a deflating 3-1 loss at home to Tunisian top side CS Sfaxien which all but ended their African dream with one still to play, the national team, Sihlangu followed suite by bombing out of the 2017 COSAFA Castle Cup after going down to the classy ‘Brave Warriors’ of Zimbabwe in a one-sided clash at this 2010 World Cup venue last night.

It marked a ‘Black Sunday’ for the country’s football after months of being on a high following the ‘Birds’ CAF sojourn exploits and Sihlangu’s credible goalless draw away in Niger in the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 qualifiers. It all went pear-shaped yesterday on all fronts.

Sihlangu had been warned of the threat of the talented Zimbabwean midfielder Ovidy Obvious Karuru, who plies his trade with trade with South Africa’s Amazulu and is the current leading goal-scorer in the annual tournament with six goals under his belt, but Pieter De Jongh’s weak side did not heed the warning.

Karuru, who turned 28 years old on 23 January this year, had already scored a brace against Mozambique’s Black Mambas before he single-handedly buried Seychelles in the ‘Brave Warriors’ 6-0 win with a comprehensive hat-trick. Last night, it took him just 16 minutes to show his worthy when he scored his sixth goal of the tournament with a deft finish after Sihlangu porous-as-sieve defence was caught flat-footed on the right flank where the inexperienced Tambuti FC right back Siboniso Ndzabandzaba, on his debut, was like a N4 highway to this North-West Province – free way.

Sihlangu were lucky to go to the half time trailing by a single goalas the Zimbabweans completely dominated the first half with incisive movements but their profligacy infront of goal proved to be their main undoing. Sihlangu struggled to exert themselves against the fast thinking coach, Sunday Chidzamba’s charges. The motley group of Zimbabweans in the less than 3 000 crowd here watched in anguish top striker Prince Dube, who was the Zimbabwean premier league second top goal scorer and is reportedly on the wanted books of South African premiership side, Ajax Cape Town, fail to connect a cross by the dangerous Karuru in the half-hour mark and when Ocean Mashuru headed another Karuru cross six minutes later, the less than 50 Swazi fans here heaved a collective sigh of relief.

The experienced Felix Badenhorst was unlucky to see his rasping shot go wide two minutes before half time and it proved to be a warning to the Zimbabwean of his threat in front of goal.

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