Africa-Press – Eswatini. Sihlangu………….. (1)2 Saviola 14th, Order 51st
Botswana……….. (1)2 Talane 45+1, Setsile 75th pen
Sometimes in football you need luck to win games and after throwing everything at Botswana’s Zebras, mother luck was not with Sihlangu.
The nations pride crashed out of the CHAN qualifiersafter playing to a 2-all draw at the state-of-the-art Orlando Stadium. An unfortunate penalty conceded with 15 minutes remaining was the major let-down as once again, a chance to qualify for a first ever CAF major tournament went up in smoke. Sihlangu got off to a bright start, opening the scorers’ chart a minute before the quarter hour mark through Sandile ‘Saviola’ Gamedze.
Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa, who was celebrating his 31st birthday on the day, picked a cleared Mzwandile Mabelesa ball, raced towards goal before threading a pass for ‘Saviola’. The MTN Premier League top goal scorer sent a dummy to the onrushing defender before placing the ball into the far corner with his weaker left foot.
Concentration
Just when it mattered the most in referee’s added time in the opening half, lapses in concentration saw Sihlangu concede as Boakeditswe Talane tapped home from close range.
Six minutes after resumption, Sihlangu restored their lead through Fanelo ‘Order’ Mamba, who cut in on the right hand side before unleashing a thunderbolt which beat goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko hands down. In the 75th minute, Peter Dlamini handled inside the big box and referee Keren Yocette pointed to the spot.
Francis Setsile stepped up to send Sandanezwe Mathabela the wrong way to level matters for Botswana. For the fourth game in succession in a space of a month, Sihlangu has failed to get the better of Botswana, drawing three, an international friendly plus the back-to-back CHAN Qualifiers and losing one, the 2-0 defeat in the COSAFA Cup Plate semi-finals.
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