NO DERBY FEAR – ‘KOKI’

MBABANE – An enthralling football season lies ahead for local elite football fans. Already, the country’s biggest football fixture, the capital city derby between Mbabane Highlanders and Mbabane Swallows is on the cards as this season’s MTN Premier League grand opening match on September 16.

However, the fixture is still subject to approval by the PLE Board of Governors along with its Executive Committee.
Fans have already had a feel of what the derby match will look like this season after a serious revamp of the Highlanders’ squad. They are, on paper, undoubtedly the best team after all the expensive signings they made in preseason and paraded in the Eswatini Charity Cup recently.

They beat Manzini Wanderers 2-1 before losing by same margin to Swallows in the final despite dominating their rivals on the day. Swallows’ coach Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati acknowledged that the Highlanders’ squad is impressive but has no worries about starting off against the black and white city rivals.

“It doesn’t matter who I start with. After all, we’ll play all the teams who are different in their nature. What matters for us is that we’ll start with a bang. Yes, it’s interesting to see how the other teams are signing up good players. It will make it an exciting and very competitive season and interesting for the fans,” he reckoned.

Vilakati was also not concerned that immediately after Highlanders; his runners-up last season in the league, Young Buffaloes, are next while soon after, it is third-place finishers last season, Green Mamba. Also, soon after these matches, he will be back in the CAF Champions League 2019 preliminaries in November. He also has key players out injured for the next three weeks.

“These are tough teams and we’ll also need to be tough. As for injured players, we’ll have depth for every position. Currently, I’ll be signing a defender and a winger otherwise I believe in the current team. It’s going to be a great season and the tough opening games will help us prepare for CAF,” he envisaged.
Vilakati has strikers Sandile Hlatshwako, Simanga Shongwe and central defender Mandla Palma all out with serious injuries. Palma sustained a fracture in his leg during the last and decisive CAF Champions League 2018 group D match away in Angola against Club Desportivo on Tuesday afternoon.
On their Angola defeat, he decried lack of depth, among other things.

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