‘BULL’ PUT BRAKES ON LEOPARD

MANZINI – Eight-times league winners Royal Leopard suffered a blow as they lost grip of the MTN Premier League pole position after sharing  the spoils with Mbabane Highlanders.

Their game played here yesterday ended in a 1-1 stalemate, courtesy of first half goals by Leopard’s veteran Captain Muzi ‘Mzoro’ Dlamini and Highlanders Skipper Philani ‘Mkasabuli’ Mkhonto. The police side are now second on the charts, tied with Young Buffaloes at 32 points.  However, the army side boasts of a better goal difference. Meanwhile, Highlanders remained outside the top four brackets. It was a game of two halves, as the Edwin Matsebula men dominated the first half, while Dumisane ‘DU’ Makhanya-led side took charge of the second stanza. The clash kicked off with open and tense play, where both sides pressed with intent, but Leopard looked a better side as they had the cutting edge upfront.

Seasoned Captain ‘Mzoro’ put them ahead in the 17th minute. He got a pass from Sifiso ‘Ayoba’ Matse and dribbled past two defenders before he confronted goalkeeper Khanyakwezwe Shabalala. He unleashed a powerful shot that tainted Shabalala’s sheet on the day and gave them hopes of maintain the summit of the log. However, the capital city giants maintained their nerve as they wanted to avenge their 3-2 first round defeat. They found an answer three minutes before the half-hour mark with Philani ‘Mkasabuli’ Mkhonto’s beauty of a goal. Banele ‘Pupu’ Sikhondze’s magic feet laid him a pass in between three defenders which he picked to unleash an authoritative curling ball into the top left corner, leaving Ncamiso ‘Mbhonyo’ Dlamini with no choice between the sticks.

They then intensified their hunt to take the lead but none however succeeded in that bid, as they needed to hatch their plans at half-time. From the break, the capital city giants returned with strong feet, dominating the play. They switched Leopard in midfield as Ghanaian Emmanuel Ansah and Mpendulo Tfomo bottled-up Kelvin Kunene and Junior Magagula, while ‘Mkasabuli’ and ‘Pupu’ spearheaded the attack.Leopard contained the pressure and never gave them clear cut chances. ‘Pupu’ had an attempt which went wide in the 73rd minute before being rested, but experienced national team Sihlangu’s shot stopper ‘Mbhonyo’ parried it away.

Shortly before the hour mark, tempers flared between the head coaches in the dugouts, but quickly subsided. It was later succeeded by a fan who was seated in the ‘Bull’s grand stand, who attempted to throw a container with water inside the pitch. It failed as the contained fell on the synthetic tracks. The game went for a nail-biting affair in the dying minutes but neither side succeeded in getting the winner to see referee Letticia Viana’s end it in an unwanted draw for both sides in their races.
At the end of the game, police officers escorted the match officials out as there was fans’ uproar during the course of the game.

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