‘Birds’, ‘Ingwe’ drop more points

(At Mavuso Sports Centre)

R. Leopard ……………………..(1)2

Hleliso 1^st, Fanelo 48^th

M.Swallows …………………….(1)2

Thandolwethu 28^th, Nunu 40^th

MANZINI – Royal Leopard and Mbabane Swallows saw their wretched league form persist yesterday, as they played out a frantic stalemate.

Under the blistering, unforgiving heat of Manzini, these two stumbling giants remained shackled to their winless streaks, now extending to four and five games, respectively, for the police side and the ‘Birds’.

In the 16-team log, these two flickering giants find themselves marooned in the shadows of the bottom half, their storied status offering no sanctuary from the biting chill of the mid-table.

For the Caleb Ngwenya-led charges, the sweet, intoxicating nectar of victory has become a distant memory, a ghost of January 17 when they edged Nsingizini by a solitary goal. Across the divide, the police side remains haunted by their own fading echoes; they have not tasted the euphoria of three points since that January 25 afternoon, when they ruthlessly dismantled Sisonkhe in a four-goal demolition that feels, in this current drought, like a lifetime ago.

The drama ignited before the parched spectators had even found their rhythm, as Leopard’s Hleliso Gamedze soared to meet a delicious Thembisa Shabangu cross, tapping home after a solitary minute to leave goalkeeper Sandanezwe Mathabela stranded in no-man’s-land. The police side threatened to double their bounty when Frederick Asante’s reckless challenge on Shabangu gifted them a penalty, yet Mathabela redeemed his earlier uncertainty with a sprawling save at the quarter-hour mark to deny Gamedze a brace.

Swallows, the storied ‘Birds’, found their wings in the 28^th minute through the wand of Thandolwethu Sihlongonyane, whose exquisite free-kick defied geometry and Mlamuli Makhanya alike to restore parity. The momentum swung violently toward the ‘Birds’ five minutes before the interval when Njongo Mazibuko turned provider, fizzing a cross for Sizolwethu ‘Nunu’ Shabalala to tap home and send the Swallows faithful into raptures.

The second half was but two minutes old when the pendulum swung back; Fanelo Tsabedze met another pinpoint delivery from the indefatigable Shabangu, unleashing a thunderous strike to make it 2-2.

Disgrace then followed for Swallows as Celso was brandished a straight red card at the hour mark for a foul on Mlamuli Msibi, leaving the ‘Birds’ to navigate the final third of the contest with a numerical deficit.

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