On Sunday afternoon, Swallows FC pushed their bid for safety in the DStv
Premiership forward with a 2-1 victory over Chippa United at the Nelson
Mandela Bay Stadium.
Swallows made four changes to the side that had lost against Cape Town
City, while Chippa made two changes following their win over Polokwane
City on penalties in the Nedbank Cup.
The Chilli Boys took the game to Swallows in the early stages, with
Thabiso Lebitso particularly lively, as on nine minutes he forced a save
out of goalkeeper Thakasani Mbanjwa after going through at the near post.
Swallows waited for their moments on the break and Kagiso Malinga gave
them the lead on 19 minutes with a first-time shot on the edge of the box
that took a slight deflection and went past Kazapua at the near post.
Chippa got back on the front foot and found the equaliser on the
half-hour mark after a mistake at the back led to Lebitso going clear on
goal and fired a shot beyond the reach of Mbanjwa in a one-on-one.
The sides were evenly matched in the latter phase of the first stanza and
the same theme continued coming from the break, with neither team taking
the game by the scruff of the net. However, Swallows showed a sense of
urgency after the hour-mark and Malinga eventually restored their lead and
completed his brace he leaped the highest to guide home a header from a
corner.
#DstvDiskiChallenge Results :
Golden Arrows 1-3 Stellenbosch
Chippa United 1-3 Orlando Pirates
Maritzburg United 1-4 TS Galaxy
Mamelodi Sundowns 1-1 Swallows
Sekhukhune United 0-1 Kaizer Chiefs
Royal AM 2-3 Richards Bay #ThamiSoccer pic.twitter.com/U2Xnan16Qz— ThamiSoccer (@ThamiSoccer) February 25, 2023
Morgan Mammila reacted by making attacking changes in the closing stages
as Sergio Kammies and Elmo Kambindu provided the fresh legs upfront.
Swallows did not give United time and space on the ball once they
approached their defensive third in the dying minutes and gave a lot of
resistance as they held on to return back to winning ways.
The victory saw Swallows move level on points with Chippa in 14th place
on the log, three points clear of the relegation play-off spot held by
Maritzburg United.
