‘BIRDS’ HOLD AMAZULU

BIG BEND – Mbabane Swallows fired blanks and rued the missed chances as they settled for a goalless draw against AmaZulu.

The ‘Birds’ had an upper hand over South Africa’s ABSA Premiership League side but poor finishing upfront saw them settling for the barren draw during the international friendly match at Mayaluka Stadium in Big Bend. Swallows were dominant from start to finish and they could have taken the lead as early as the third minute when striker Sandile Hlatshwako failed to beat former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Moeeneb Josephs one-on-one.

Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze displayed a man of the match-deserving performance as he was behind supplying Hlatshwako, Richard McCreesh and Sizolwethu Shabalala who all failed to score. In the half-hour mark, Tsabedze missed golden chance after receiving a pass from Sizolwethu, only for him to shoot straight at the goalkeeper with the post wide open. AmaZulu, who won 2-0 against Manzini Wanderers on Saturday at Mavuso Sports Centre, had started the international friendly with their strongest squad.

After failing to produce a convincing performance in the first half, coach Cavin Johnson rested the trio of Siyabonga Nomvethe, Moeeneb Josephs, Thembela Sikhakhane and Singabakho Ngema for Neil Boshoff, Sedate Our-Akoriko, Jabulani Ncobeni and Bayanda Shangase. The second half saw Swallows continuing with their dominance but failing to find the back of the net. The duo of substituted Lilepo Glody and Cabby Kahapa all missed great chances forcing the game to end goalless.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: