BULLISH ’LANDERS!

NHLANGANO – Seeing is believing.

The race for the E350 000 MTN Premier League first round incentive was thrown wide open yesterday at the King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium in Nhlangano after Mbabane Highlanders pulled off a stunning 2-0 victory over Young Buffaloes to finally end a seven-game winless run of form in the MTN Premier League. Before this big victory, Highlanders had recorded seven successive draws, which is 630 minutes without a win hence yesterday’s result was a welcome relief for under-pressure coach Dumisani ‘DU’ Makhanya, who wore a smile that was as wide as the pitch at the sound of the final whistle by referee Mciniseli Sithole.

Defeat

For Buffaloes, the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for a number of reasons. The army giants last lost a league match on November 30, 2019, which was against Green Mamba and they had gone 26 games without tasting defeat before this proud record was ended in emphatic fashion by the black and white giants of Mbabane. This now means with five games remaining before the curtain falls on the first round, Buffaloes’ lead at the top has been cut to just two points, with Leopard who have two games in hand, breathing heavily down their necks now in the race for the big prize. Worth noting is that Buffaloes also have a game in hand, which ironically, is against the same Leopard, making it a very interesting battle. Even though the win did little to change their log position as they remain sixth, the win clearly meant a lot to the Highlanders’ faithful judging by the wild celebrations at the sound of the final whistle. It was the second half of this game that ultimately decided the outcome after an eventful first half where Buffaloes did everything but score.

Sealed

Two goals by substitute Kenneth Moloto and goal-a-game-striker Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa sealed an impressive win for the capital city giants against a side that was considered invincible before this game. Even more impressive for ‘Sikhali’ is that this was his seventh goal in nine games for Highlanders, easily making him the mainstay of the team at the moment. Buffaloes started the game well and created a host of scoring chances but beating Highlanders’ goalkeeper Khanyakwezwe Shabalala proved a difficult task. Striker Phiwa Dlamini tried his best to unlock the Highlanders defence with his darting runs but scoring was a big challenge. Highlanders game plan was to absorb pressure and apply counter-attacking football, which was spot-on at the end. The signs that a goal was not too far away started in the 49th minute when ‘Sikhali’ saw his left-footer brilliantly tipped over the bar Buffaloes’ goalkeeper Nhlanhla Gwebu.

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