{"id":48957,"date":"2024-05-06T16:12:26","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T16:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory"},"modified":"2024-05-06T16:55:07","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T16:55:07","slug":"birds-gunning-for-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory","title":{"rendered":"BIRDS GUNNING FOR GLORY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>CAPITAL city giants Mbabane Swallows edged closer to winning the league title following their 3-2 victory over traditional rivals Mbabane Highlanders in a tightly contested match played at the Somhlolo National Stadium yesterday.<\/b><\/p>\n

The \u2018Beautiful Birds\u2019 are now five points clear at the top of the MTN Premier League log table with 49 points.<\/p>\n

The red and white glamour side came into the contest with the aim of keeping the momentum going while the hosts were looking for revenge following the Ingwenyama Cup humiliation.<\/p>\n

The log leaders settled fairly quickly into the contest as they enjoyed the lion\u2019s share of the ball possession.<\/p>\n

They eventually broke the deadlock in the 4th minute via the boot of Neliswa ‘Tiger’ Dlamini, who met a decent cross from Sizolwethu ‘Nunu’ Shabalala to put his team ahead.<\/p>\n

Swallows also had another goal disallowed two minutes later.<\/p>\n

As the match progressed, Swallows players grew in confidence, using their wings to frustrate the opposition.<\/p>\n

In the 17th minute, Sizolwethu ‘Nunu’ Shabalala doubled the lead after outpacing Pantjie Zulu on the left flank.<\/p>\n

At the stage of the match, Swallows were all over Highlanders. Just after the half hour mark, Highlanders regrouped and began to make inroads towards the opposition half.<\/p>\n

They had their goal cleared off the line in the 14th minute.<\/p>\n

pulled<\/p>\n

They eventually pulled one back in the 31st minute after Siyabonga Mkhonto benefitted from a defensive blunder.<\/p>\n

Defender Albert Nkosana failed to clear the ball inside the box, allowing Mkhonto to score in an empty net.<\/p>\n

Swallows almost scored the third goal in the 27 minute when Leon Manyisa’s free kick hit the post with Ntokozo Shabangu at sea.<\/p>\n

Before the break, the hosts were awarded a penalty after Philani Mkhonto was fouled inside the box by defender Kingsely Kwayki.<\/p>\n

Philani cooly slotted the ball in, sending Sandanezwe Shabalala in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

The match went to break at 2-2.<\/p>\n

substitution<\/p>\n

At the restart, the home side made a double substitution when Siwakhile Shongwe and Kenneth Moloto came in for Siyabonga Mkhonto and Bonginkosi ‘Manyovu’ Dlamini.<\/p>\n

Highlanders were nearly punished in the 50th minute when their defenders committed a mistake but Ayanda Gadlela missed the target.<\/p>\n

Swallows went ahead in the 56th minute through Leon Manyisa’s free kick at the edge of the box, beating the rusty Shabangu between the sticks.<\/p>\n

With fatigue catching up on Highlanders, the visitors enjoyed more dominance and \u2018Nunu\u2019 missed a clear chance after he found himself faced with the net.<\/p>\n

Swallows protected their lead until the end of the match.<\/p>\n

Scenes of jubilation erupted from the Swallows stand after the referee blew the final whistle.<\/p>\n

Umkhonto kaShaka rule the Mbabane City!<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. CAPITAL city giants Mbabane Swallows edged closer to winning the league title following their 3-2 victory over traditional rivals Mbabane Highlanders in a tightly contested match played at the Somhlolo National Stadium yesterday. The \u2018Beautiful Birds\u2019 are now five points clear at the top of the MTN Premier League log table with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":48955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[234,248,249],"class_list":["post-48957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-eswatini","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nBIRDS GUNNING FOR GLORY - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CAPITAL city giants Mbabane Swallows edged closer to winning the league title following their 3-2 victory over tradit ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BIRDS GUNNING FOR GLORY\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CAPITAL city giants Mbabane Swallows edged closer to winning the league title following their 3-2 victory over tradit ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-06T16:12:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-06T16:55:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/05\/sm_1715001689.068811.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"BIRDS GUNNING FOR GLORY\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-06T16:12:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-06T16:55:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory\"},\"wordCount\":461,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/05\/sm_1715001689.068811.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Eswatini\",\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/birds-gunning-for-glory\",\"name\":\"BIRDS GUNNING FOR GLORY - 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