(At Somhlolo National Stadium)
Eswatini……….(0)1
Justice 90+5
Eritrea…………(0)2
Ibrahim 50th, 59th
LOBAMBA – The road ends here for the senior men’s national team, Sihlangu, in their quest for a TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) maiden appearance.
Sihlangu suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of unranked Eritrea in the second leg of the preliminary round played at the Somhlolo National Stadium yesterday. Eswatini had a mountain to climb, needing a 3-0 win after trailing 2-0 from the first leg in Morocco last week. Eritrea have advanced to the group stages of the qualifiers, with a 4-1 aggregate score.
The visitors last played at in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) competitions 18 years ago, before it was blocked from such competitions because players would often flee, while abroad on national assignments, as it is considered as the most repressive countries in the world. The match started on a high note, with Eritrea creating the first chance at goal, which narrowly missed the target. Sihlangu, on the other hand, enjoyed more ball possession, with minimal chances created.
At the stroke of half-time Kwakhe ‘Stopper’ Thwala unleashed a cracker just outside the box, which missed the target by inches, with the goalkeeper Yonathan Sultan well beaten. This was the last and final chance of the goalless first half.
At the start of the last 45 minutes, Sihlangu interim Coach Nuro introduced Junior Magagula for Bongwa ‘Owa’ Matsebula.
Eritrea eventually broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half through Ali Ibrahim, who volleyed the ball past goalkeeper Qiniso Nyawo.
Eswatini let a chance to restore the parity a few minutes later when Junior ballooned the ball over the bar inside the box, with the goalkeeper to beat. Sihlangu continued to pile pressure with Justice ‘Figa’ Figuareido’s hard shot in the box missing the target.
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