Umkhonto ka-Sikhali pierces so many hearts!
. . . Since making his debut for Mbabane Swallows back in August 2012, Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa has been as sharp as a samurai’s sword in front of goal. In his second season with Green Mamba he has already won three trophies – a rare match winner par exc
My dearest readers……This column does not believe in heaping praises on one individual in what is ostensibly a team sport.
But allow me to buck the trend because history has shown us that within the confines of teamwork an individual can rise up to the occasion to decide a football match.
Over the last decade, two of the world’s football icons, that god’s gift to football Lionel Messi and the man machine, Cristiano Ronaldo have kept the world on the tenterhooks in a one-on-one rivalry never been seen before. As Jimmy Burns wrote in the compulsive, well-scripted book, ‘Cristiano & Leo’, “one is a preening Adonis, a precise physical machine who blows teams away with his pace and power. The other a shuffling genius; able to do things with a football that seem otherworldly,”
Down on the tip of the Southern part of the continent, in a small landlocked country of just 1.2 million people, on July 31, 1991, in Ntshanini, just outside Goedgegun (Nhlangano to you) in the southern part of the country, a star was born. Named Sabelo Wilson Ndzinisa, he first tried his luck with Denver Sundowns on trial but the coaches at ‘Basop IKappa Kappa’ could not see the gem in-front of their eyes in the assemblage of trialists trying to find their way to play in the elite league during that pre-season period. He was pried away by the Swallows of Mbabane and made his debut in August 2012.
Scored
On that warm summer afternoon at the modest Tambankulu Stadium, he scored his first goal for the red and white glamour side in a 2-0 win over Tambankulu Callies where Mfanafuthi ‘Taribo’ Bhembe also scored. ‘Taribo’ scored first then ‘Sikhali’ netted the second goal. It was as if the dreadlocked Bhembe was handing over the baton to the upstart from Ntshanini who has gone on to be a match winner par excellence. A trophy laden football career has begun in earnest.
November 11, 2015, he made his debut for the country of his birth, Eswatini, in a friendly match against Lesotho’s Likuena Likuena and has gone to be just one goal behind the all-time leading goal-scorer in the COSAFA Cup, Felix Badenhorst, his former teammate at Swallows, who has nine goals. With eight goals in the COSAFA Cup, ‘Sikhali’ who scored one of the goals in the recent 2-all draw with Somalia’s Ocean Stars, has proven to be a rare talent.
While he made headlines for the wrong reasons in 2020 when he turned out for South African National First Division side, Mbombela United and was improperly registered, costing the Nelspruit side their status in the second tier of Mzansi league after they had 15 points docked, ‘Sikhali’ never gave up. He is not one to hog the headlines for the wrong reasons and that episode was a dark one in his life. Even his former team, Swallows who had sold him to Mbombela United for a reported E350 000 wouldn’t touch him even with the proverbial barge pole. Enter flamboyant Mbabane Highlanders Managing Director Chief Ally Kgomongwe. He unveiled ‘Sikhali’ on that warm Tuesday afternoon of October 20, 2020, at Highlanders offices, at Ezulwini in a marquee signing that set tongue wagging on how he would be able to register a player suspended by FIFA. Kgomongwe worked his magic, went ahead to sign and register the deadly striker. He repaid his faith with 19 goals in the first season, almost half of Highlanders goal tally of 42 and the following season, his 23goal tally saw him walk away with Player of the Season award in spite of the ‘Black Bull’ finishing as runner’s up. Off he went to secure his future with Green Mamba, leaving Highlanders MD Ally Kgomongwe biting his nails and those who swear by the ‘horns’ of the Black Bull, completely distraught. Once, when it comes to decision-making, ‘Sikhali’ had proven to be spot on. At the age of 31 years, he had to consider his future given that he had family to take care of, he swamped the ‘black and white’ kit of Highlanders for the ‘green and white’ of Green Mamba. It proved to be a masterstroke.
Pride
First season, he won the MTN league title with the Ernest Mavuso-coached side and in the current season his trophy cabinet is already swelling with pride as the Trade Fair Cup and the richest club tournament in the land, the Ingwenyama cup trophy is nestling beautifully in the club’s cabinet. There is also a guaranteed ticket back to Africa in the CAF Confederation Cup. On a personal level, his seven-goal haul in the Ingwenyama Cup means once again the ‘Golden Boot’ award is his. Unless you fell on your head when you were born, you can argue otherwise that he is a sure bet to walk away with the ‘Player of the tournament’ award. His seven goals in the Ingwenyama Cup were crucial. I remember the all-decisive quarterfinal winner against a hard fighting Nsingizini
Hotspurs at a packed Big Bend’s Mayaluka Stadium on February 10 when in a typical ‘Sikhali’ finish, leapt on a cross from Mxolisi ‘Xavi’ Mkhontfo to finish with the coolness of a cucumber. The goal-scoring instincts which can shame a green mamba (excuse the pun) which has not had a meal for a day, were evident as he moved silently behind defender Pius Baffour to finished off sublimely, breaking the hearts of the travelling Nsingizini supporters. His devastating brace against Young Buffaloes in the semi-final set him apart as a match winner par excellence, a sniper of note and team player. His cool-as-you-like penalty kick in the Cup final against Mbabane Swallows clearly put him on a pedestal as a player who has a Big Match Temperament (BTM) and most importantly, a player you can bet your E1.4 million on.
Dear reader, we are lucky to witness such rare talent in our time, which – just like cream – always rises to the top. Humble and softspoken, ‘Sikhali’ would probably not hurt a fly even if it sat on his flat nose, which granted, must have inspired the invention of bicycle chairs. A survivor of a life-threatening head injury, he bounced back to continue thrilling us with his God-given talent and break many opposition’s fans hearts. That speaks to his never-say-die attitude and perseverance. It began way back when he was rejected by Denver Sundowns. He did not give up. Today, we have a star who has broken many football records in our football than plates. At the ripe age of 33 years (he will be turning 33 on July 31 this year) he is still as deadly as the scrawny youngster who was alongside ‘Taribo’ Bhembe on his debut back in August 2012, the very same season he won his first MTN league title. Personally, I will always remember him for the league winning goal, a trademark glancing header against Manzini Wanderers and of course his two goals in the 5-3 pulsating ESwatini Bank Cup final victory over Malanti Chiefs in 2013.
I have not gone through the bible with a fine-tooth comb, but I know in John 3:16-17, it does say; ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,”
Let the man above (who I respect and love so much) forgive me because right now, in paying tribute to the match par excellence Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa I would like to paraphrase the verse to say; “For God loved Eswatini football so much, He gave us Sikhali Ndzinisa’, to leave defenders eating his dust, and goalkeepers faintly ill with his booming shots and breaking so many hearts,”
‘Sikhali’, the punisher; ‘Sikhali’, the match winner par excellence and in tribute to the Ingwenyama Cup 2024 match winner, ‘Umkhonto ka-Sikhali’ indeed.
God bless his soul. Until next week, Thatha!
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