Vovovo look to evade Rangers’ home ‘fire’
RANGERS VS VOVOVO AT KING SOBHUZA II MEMORIAL STADIUM (3pm)
– All the teams that have faced them at this venue, their own backyard as they even train here week-in and week-out under coach Mthunzi Ginindza, know the rookies can make life tough for visitors.
They have lost here, but their wins have also been huge at this venue – who would have thought they could beat a star-studded Mbabane Swallows, rich with international experience when they have no big names or experience, but regional players who have been together since the early regional football stages to date.
Their previous result with Green Mamba, a 1-all draw, tells you that they are no walk in the park under Ginindza, who is definitely onto something with this team but needs to boost with two to three experienced stars to guide the rest of the team.
Promotion
At home they are against Vovovo, who they know very well from the first division last season – Rangers earned promotion as runners-up to Vovovo so they meet again, but in the top flight league.
Vovovo are also motivated by last week’s 1-0 win against an unbeaten Mbabane Highlanders before this game and will want to keep the momentum going after also having suffered a slide prior to their big win.
For Vovovo, winning may put them in position four with 22 points from their current position seven standing, but results involving Tambankulu Callies and Mbabane Swallows tomorrow will also likely change things even if Vovovo manage to reach the second leg play-off match against JS Kabyile, who trail them after losing 0-1 in the first leg last November. The COVID-19 pandemic halted the second leg as travel was restricted due to the fourth wave which hit with the variant, Omicron.
This leaves the spot up to second-placed Highlanders and Sea Birds to take for now – Sea Birds have been in devastating form just like Highlanders, who lost for the first time last week to Vovovo.
A win for Sea Birds today, with Highlanders involved in the Mbabane derby tomorrow against Mbabane Swallows, will see them back in the summit after a while since they last occupied it in the opening three weeks. Sea Birds have won all their last five matches, the previous one being a 2-1 win over hub neighbours Denver Sundowns and remain favourites here.
LAST SEASON’S HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Vovovo FC Rangers
Devastating
1 – 0 Rangers
1 – 0 Vovovo FC
top four today.
Rangers, on the other hand, are fighting relegation as their coach would say and their current standing, position 14, explains it all with four teams set to be relegated at the end of the season unless yesterday afternoon’s Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Board of Governors (BoGs) meeting at Sigwaca House resolved otherwise as it was one of the contentious issues there.
A win can give them a bit of relief if Milling Hot Spurs and Denver Sundowns do not win their matches.
They are all level on 10 points from position 11 to 14. Just above Rangers on 13th, Tinyosi have a date with Tambuti at Ka-Langa Technical Centre at 12:30pm and both sides desperately need the results.
Tambuti have no win, but three draws and eight defeats in 11 matches while Tinyosi have only two wins, five defeats and four draws.
Vovovo FC Skipper Thamie Zulu.