WE’VE BROUGHT EXCITEMENT TO FIRST DIVISION LEAGU BY David Litchfieid First of all let me apologise on behalf of the team that your column was not available last week. This was due to some technical issues beyond our control. The next chapter of the theatre and drama that is Mbabane Highlanders’ season in the National First Division played out at Mavuso Sports Centre in front of a crowd of approximately 2 000 Highlanders supporters on Saturday. Drama is the apt word to describe the thrilling game that the supporters witnessed. A total of five goals were scored on the day in front of the record crowd for National First Division games. We promised the nation before the National First Division started that it would never be the same again and week in and week out Mbabane Highlanders have delivered on that promise by setting the benchmark in terms of the professionalism, entertainment, quality of football and sheer excitement in the National First Division. The National First Division is exciting and drawing crowds that rival if not exceed the crowds at Premier League games this season; talk about a turnaround!! Weaknesses The game against Mvuma Hotspur was expected to be very tough as we were playing against a team coached by our preseason coach Alou Badara. Coach Badara has a rare insight into the strengths and weaknesses of our squad as he put together the first core of the squad in the pre-season and he trained them for almost two months. Our team came out with both guns blazing and we missed a host of chances in the first half until even I was wondering where our first goal would come from!! Cometh the hour cometh the man, our ‘Captain Fantastic’ Xolani ‘Chocco’ Sibandze stepped up, scored and sent the Mbabane Highlanders faithful into raptures. There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe the quality performances that ‘Chocco’ has put in this season. He has matured as a player and as a captain and he has justified the faith shown in him when awarding him the captain’s armband with fantastic performances week in and week out. Scoring Our goalscoring machine, Mfanufikile ‘Fash’ Ndzimandze, made the score two nil and we were coasting. We were stunned when Mvuma Hotspur scored two goals in 20 minutes to level matters. Two weeks ago in this very column I described the effort that the director, technical bench and management committee put in to ensure that the players have a winning culture and a positive never say die attitude. Just this past Wednesday the Mbabane Highlanders Director, Bheki ‘Rubber’ Simelane, together with the MC and technical bench was addressing the team regarding this positive, winning mentality. The players took the lesson to heart and those characteristics came out strong in the last three minutes of the game. The self-belief was etched on the face of every member of the squad. Our supporters never stopped believing and started singing our anthem ‘Gwaza Nkunz’emnyama’ louder than ever before. ‘Fash’ stepped up and scored his seventh goal of the season and we won the game! No one could have scripted it better, everyone in the stadium was left breathless and amazed at what this young team is capable of because they dare to believe. They dare to believe that Mbabane Highlanders can once again reach the summit of Swazi football. An ever growing number of people in this kingdom of Eswatini dare to believe in that as well. Support Once again our supporters showed that Mbabane Highlanders are the best supported team in the country by far. I am not entering the debate of which teams have the most supporters in the country. I am merely pointing out the fact that Mbabane Highlanders supporters come in numbers and actively support the team in all of its activities. The usual sports jargon states that thousands of passionate supporters are like having a twelfth player on the field. This season in general, and this weekend in particular is living proof that supporters can carry a team to victory as long as they continue to believe and, more importantly, support the team even in hard times. Mbabane Highlanders supporters are without a doubt the best supporters in the country and we continue to salute you and thank you for your incredible support. Promotional Merchandise and sponsorships We now have a stall available at all our games which serves as a shop selling the team’s promotional merchandise and replicas. It also serves as a supporters card production centre. Supporters cards are produced at the stadium during games. This means that as a supporter you will receive your card the same day you pay for it at the game. This innovation is working very well as it was piloted at the abandoned game in Mhlume and perfected at our last game this weekend. The response from our supporters has been amazing, more than 40 cards have been issued at the last game alone. Please look out for the stall and support your team by getting your membership card for the 2013/2014 season. The Player of the Month award, sponsored by KM Barbershop and Salon in Checkers, kicked off in October and will continue throughout the season with the winning player of the month receiving a trophy and E500. This award is only made possible by the Mbabane Highlanders fraternity supporting the sponsor. KM Barbershop membership cards are available to card carrying members of Mbabane Highlanders. The card entitles the member to a 30 per cent discount on any of the services at KM Barbershop and weekly 10 supporters who do their hair at the salon will be given FREE transport to the next game courtesy of KM Barbershop and Salon. Support this sponsor over weekends and you could very well find yourself in the salon with your favourite player as all of our players frequent the salon on a regular basis. Nomination forms for the player of the month are available at the stadiums, at the Mbabane Highlanders office in Mbabane and at KM Barbershop. Get to one of these places and nominate the player you believe is the player of the month for November. Castle Premier Challenge Cup Finally it would be amiss of Mbabane Highlanders if we did not congratulate Mbabane Swallows on winning the Castle Premier Challenge Cup. Congratulations and thanks must also go to Swaziland Beverages for rekindling their relationship with football. This was a very exciting tournament and we look forward to the next instalment with bated breath. Next Game Our next game is against All Nations on Saturday and it will be played at Mayaluka Stadium at 4pm. We again encourage all of our supporters to come in numbers to the game; your support is a key element in the success story that is Mbabane Highlanders so far this season. Office Contact details The contact numbers for the Mbabane Highlanders office are now active and are as follows: Landline: 2483 3177 Cell : 7615 6834 We look forward to interacting with our supporters. Until next week Gwaza Nkunzi.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 08:01:38 +0000
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