Home | Sports | THE BIGGER THEY COME, THE HARDER THEY FALL!

THE BIGGER THEY COME, THE HARDER THEY FALL!

21/01/2020 14:04:00 Lwazi Dlamini Pandora's box

Font size:

My dearest readers ...

Since being launched in a glittering ceremony at Lozitha Palace on a distinctively chilly Tuesday evening of November 10, 2015, by His Majesty King Mswati III, the Ingwenyama Cup did not only become the richest tournament in the land but carved a niche for itself as knockout tournament supreme. The crème de la crème. Never mind the fact that the Swallows of Mbabane won it three times in a row; never mind that it is only its five-year chequered history, this is a tournament that continues to be a true reincarnation of the romantic biblical story line of a little David slaying a lardy Goliath in emphatic fashion. The bigger they come, the harder they fall – and the Ingwenyama Cup just loves them.

Its historic feat, in barely five years, already deserves a special place in the annals of our football heritage. For the first time ever, we have a team from the National First Division in brave-as-a-pride of lions, Tabankulu Callies re-writing history books in reaching the semi-final stage of the tournament. The defending champions Young Buffaloes are already out, frothing in the mouth because of a disallowed goal all their way back to Mbuluzi barracks.

The moaning and groaning from the army side seemed to be a throwback to the 5 February 2017 final against Mbabane Swallows when Nhlanhla ‘Mshengu’ Kunene goal-bound shot was cleared by midfielder, Papy Kabamba in an incident that screamed for the intervention of the VAR or goal-line technology. Talk about lightning striking in the same place twice for ‘Amathole Ezinyathi’ who felt aggrieved after the 1-0 loss to their nemesis Green Mamba who are the only local team to beat them twice in all competitions this season.

If Young Buffaloes being sent packing out of the tournament as defending champions was shocking enough on Saturday, spare a thought for Manzini Wanderers utter embarrassment at the hands of the National First Division log leaders, Tabankulu Callies the next day. Very few would have predicted victory for the modest first division side but such is the nature of the beautiful game that the 2-0 win by the Mduduzi ‘Nyama’ Shongwe coached side was a typical knockout scoreline that once again demonstrated the declining status of the hub giants as a force to be reckoned with.

There are now a generation of fans who are entering adulthood who have never had the real joy of seeing Manzini Wanderers lift any major silverware. Don’t even bother to check the last time they did win anything shiny in the form of silverware. But you would have to have been born not much later than the turn of the century to vividly remember the 2005 Eswatini Telecom Charity Cup triumph under the stewardship of the dearly departed Archie ‘Juluka’ Radebe. It rained in the Kalahari Desert.

Winning

Over the years the country’s arguably most supported side has been treating winning trophies like leprosy of the biblical times. The spineless capitulation to go down 2-0 to Callies offered very little in the way of hope that Nyanga ‘Crooks’ Hlophe could turn the club’s fortunes around anytime soon. Hlophe, with all due respect, looks old, care-worn and run down, bedevilled – not for the first time – by tactical indecision and doubt. His pre-match comments that all is not well at Wanderers juxtaposed with his post-match comments that the “the problems in the team are still there, so the players are not happy,” are anything but encouraging to everyone associated with the club. When the leader of the team makes such pronouncements publicly what do you expect the players to do? Talk about cutting your nose to spite your own face!

Personally I wasn’t surprised by Wanderers defeat. The coach boldly predicted it through his pre-match comments. To expect Wanderers to win with so much drama at the club was fanciful at best. However, this doesn’t take away the brutal brilliance, sheer determination from Callies, who ruthlessly exposed Wanderers collective shortcomings. The road to redemption looks even longer and painful for Wanderers. Nobody with any footballing knowledge believes Nyanga Hlophe has either the tactical expertise or the strength of personality to cure Wanderers long-term malaise. After the defeat to Callies, Wanderers, on Sunday, were a laugh-out-loud bad. How the Moneni Pirates fans celebrated the defeat!

That’s the magic of the Ingwenyama Cup in all of its five-year glorious splendour and orgasmic excitement. The bigger they come, the harder they fall – and the Ingwenyama Cup just loves them! Buckle Up, the game is on!