Low-Landers in sea of heartbreak!

MANZINI - Look at
the scoreline abo-
ve. Have a look again.

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Fallen capital city giants, Mbabane Highlanders got deeper into the relegation quagmire after suffering their seventh loss of a nightmarish season to a highly-charged Manzini Sea Birds at the Mavuso Sports Centre last night.

Slightly over 500 fans who cascaded to the modest venue were left shell-shocked when the 10-man Premier League rookies castrated the ‘Black Bull’ in astonishing fashion leaving the team’s officials holding impromptu meetings as the stark reality of a prolonged dance with demotion sunk in.

With five games to play, in which the once aristocrats of Swazi soccer will face Manzini Wanderers (on Sunday), Green Mamba, relegation-threatened sides Manzini Sundowns, Red Lions and - oh dear - bitter rivals, Mbabane Swallows, it will now take more than just guts to salvage the pride of the club born in 1952 at the humble sports ground of the Swaziland College of Technology (SCOT).

Yesterday’s loss at the hands of a marauding Sea Birds was the bitterest pill to swallow for the club’s long suffering fans who stood on the grandstand wishing the modest venue would open up and swallow them.

Sea Birds made their intentions known as early as the 15th minute when winger Muzi Tsabedze took advantage of a communication breakdown between defender, Kerin Bantar and goalkeeper Chico Mayisa.

The winger intercepted the ball and fired a low shot into the net.

However, Highlanders re-grouped quickly with some patient build-ups but still found Sea Birds’ central defensive pairing of Alfred Musonda and Bheki Dlamini impregnable.

The Sea Birds defensive pairing of Musonda and Dlamini were like matadors on a show in a bull ring, standing there and simply resisting everything thrown at them, leaving Highlanders’ trio of Msimisi Ncawnya, Xolani ‘Chocco’ Sibandze and Hloniphani Ndebele pulling out their hair in frustration.

With striker, Mfanafikile ‘Fash’ Ndzimandze and left full back Jean Nguimbous conspicuously missing Highlanders lacked ideas of unlocking Sea Birds’ water-tight defence.

But 10 minutes into the second half, they found the equaliser albeit under controversial circumstances through Zimbabwean midfielder, Hloniphani Ndebele, who failed to observe FIFA’s doctrine of Fair Play.

Highlanders winger, ‘Chocco’ had clashed for a high ball with Sea Birds’ Bheki Dlamini and the two players lay sprawled on the turf as the ball went out of play.

Naturally Sea Birds expected Highlanders would throw the ball back to them but instead Mzoro Dlamini found Ndebele with a long throw-in and the Zimbabwean midfielder went on to beat goalkeeper Mlungisi Mamba with a low shot.

The goal brought hope to Highlanders fans of the second victory of the season but it wasn’t to be.

The resilient Sea Birds worked their way back to the game and indeed snatched the winner in the 62nd minute when a revatilised Stanford Ncube, a former Highlanders player and the one they turned down recently, dispatched striker Machawe Mavuso with a lacerating through pass which would have defied all the rules of geometry.

The maverick striker outpaced the lethargic defensive pairing of Kerin and Thembumenzi Mayisela, rounded off the goalkeeper and passed the ball into the empty net.

It was the sucker punch. The heart-breaker. Deadly silence enveloped the modest venue.

Even when Alfred Musonda was sent off by referee Simanga Nhleko for a second bookable offence when he deliberately handled the ball outside the box with seven minutes, Sea Birds held on the last seven minutes for dear life to record another massive win which saw the Premier League rookies jump to seventh position on the MTN Premier League log.

For Highlanders, the sirens of doom could be heard from as far away as Mbabane where it is figuratively and literally a ‘tale of two cities’ as bitter rivals Mbabane Swallows have lost once all season and Highlanders have won only once all season.

For the first time in Highlanders’ 61-year history they are starring the relegation axe in the face and it does not look good at all with five games remaining.

- hi your article is good ,but i am very sorry for Mbabane Highlanders FC .I tend to wonedr if the team 's players do want to win or not because we can blame it on every one but forget one thing are the players capable of playing or are they preparing themselves enough or not
April 10, 2013, 11:37 am, charles

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: