‘BIRDS’ DROP TO FOURTH SPOT

NHLANGANO – A game of missed scoring chances.

Referee Letticia Viana was the centre of attraction as Mbabane Swallows and Manzini Sea Birds played out to a goalless draw in a grueling MTN Premier League encounter played at King Sobhuza II Stadium yesterday afternoon. The lady referee found herself on the receiving end of constant criticism from both sides with some of the decisions, particularly Swallows who openly questioned her calls. The incident that certainly did not win Viana many Swallows’ side in this game happened in the 16th minute when she awarded Sea Birds a penalty after Muzi Tsabedze was adjudged to have been brought down inside the box.  What stirred the controversy was not the decision to award the penalty but the manner in which it was taken. This is after Sea Birds’ midfielder Gcinizwe Dlamini went to take the spot kick only to have second thoughts when he had already ran over the ball and Swallows argued that this was a foul but the referee instead ordered a re-take.

This irked Swallows officials and players who crowded the referee voicing out their displeasure at the decision but Viana stood by her call. As fate would have it, Gcinizwe saw his spot kick saved by Swallows’ goalkeeper Sandile ‘Nkomishi’ Ginindza while the rebound sailed over the bar, a miss that left the Sea Birds’ bench bemused. The draw was not a favourable result for Swallows as far as the log standings are concerned as the Mbabane giants have been relegated to fourth position, with Green Mamba now on third spot with 16 points.

Sea Birds have maintained second spot , three points behind leaders Young Buffaloes, who have a game in hand. This means that Swallows will go into the eagerly-awaited derby against Mbabane Highlanders this weekend five points behind the army giants but two ahead of their sworn rivals who sit on 12 points. Back to the game, besides the penalty miss, Swallows were guilty of squandering a number of good scoring chances in this game. If anything,Sea Birds’ goalkeeper Bafana Ngwenya was the star of the show as he made a number of brilliant saves in this game. He is actually the reason Sea Birds managed to get a point in this game as Swallows threw everything at him but he was unbeatable between the poles. Twice, Swallows hit the cross-bar in the first through Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze and Sandile Hlatjwako in the first half.

Sea Birds were relying mostly on counter attacks as they kept things very tight at the back, not giving their opponents time on the ball. The second half saw Swallows doing most of the attacking but goals proved elusive until the final whistle blow. An unfortunate incident happened in the second half when ‘Nkomishi’ had to be pulled out after suffering an injury and his place was taken by Sandanezwe Mathabela.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: