Africa-Press – Eswatini. It is almost a year of famine for the national team, Sihlangu, as they are enduring a disastrous run stretching from early last year.
The Dominic Kunene-led troops men have been starved of goals and wins in any competitive tournament, leaving fans frustrated. The last time they scored a goal in a competitive match was back on July 13, last year, during the Holleywoodbets Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup quarter-finals played at King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban. Mbabane Highlanders winger Philani Mkhonto netted the equaliser in the 60th minute against Senegal, but it was not enough to avoid a penalty shoot-out defeat of 10-9.
That was 359 days ago. Since then, the Dominic Kunene’s men have fired blanks in five straight matches. Goals have become as scarce as rain in a desert for the team. Notably is that the country boasts the region’s all-time top goalscorer in Mbabane Swallows’ Felix Badenhorst, who has been left out of the national squad currently in Durban.
Reigning
He has nine COSAFA Cup goals. Badenhorst, who is the reigning 2022/23 MTN Premier League goal machine is ahead of Sihlangu’s Assistant Captain Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa, who is on the verge of smashing the record. Meanwhile, the last time Eswatini won a game was on July 10, last year, when they beat 10-man Lesotho 2-0 in the COSAFA Cup group stages. Young Buffaloes striker Sandile ‘Saviola’ Gamedze opened the scoring in the 13th minute, before Sikhali doubled the lead five minutes later.
That was the last time Sihlangu celebrated a win, and they are now close to completing a year without a win. They, however, have a chance to end this drought and despair tomorrow, when they take on Namibia in their second game of the COSAFA Group A matches. No immediate comment could be sourced from Coach Kunene, as it was announced that he would grant the media interviews today after the Namibia test. He was approached after yesterday’s training session. Notably, is that Mexico has the worst losing streak, having gone nine straight losses from 1930-1958. However, Bulgaria was winless for 17 straight matches from 1962-1998 according to the Sports Lens. Sihlangu will hope to avoid such a fate and restore some pride and glory to their nation.
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