MBABANE – Manzini Wanderers are close to equalling Manzini Sea Birds’ record for the fewest Premier League wins, having managed only a single victory all season.
The faltering MTN Premier League hub giants, currently enduring a nightmarish campaign, risk finishing the season with a solitary victory, a dismal feat last recorded by Sea Birds during the 2016/17 season. That year, ‘Izinyoni Zolwandle’ managed only one win in 22 matches, a statistic that has since stood as a benchmark for local footballing struggles. In that 12-team season, Sea Birds finished at the basement after collecting just eight points after recording one win, five draws and 16 losses.
However, they were not relegated to the National First Division at the time. The then Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Chairman, the late Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze, introduced play-offs in a bid to save league giants Mbabane Highlanders, who were also facing the chop alongside Sea Birds. ‘Inkunzi’emnyama’ ended that season with 19 points, having recorded four wins, seven draws and suffered11 losses.
The ‘Weslians’ now find themselves in similarly treacherous waters. Time is running out to find the second win required to distance themselves from that historic low. The charges led by Nyanga ‘Crooks’ Hlophe have played 23 games so far, leaving them with only seven matches to avoid the history books for recording a single win across an entire campaign.
They have already matched the record for the lowest points total in a season, eight, currently held by Sea Birds and the now-defunct Mbabane Midas City. Midas City hit that historic low during the 2017/18 season, where they managed only eight points before being relegated.
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Manzini Wanderers veteran winger Wonder ‘Samba Jive’ Nhleko (L) battling for the ball with Nsingizini Hotspurs’ Thubelihle Mavuso during an MTN Pemier League match. (Pics: Nimrod Hlophe)