Swallows have bird’s eye view of rare title shot
SWALLOWS FC are aiming to build on last season’s sixth place finish in the Premiership by challenging for silverware this campaign after reaching the semi-final of the MTN8, where they’ll face Cape Town City in a two-legged clash.
After wandering in amateur football, three seasons ago, the Birds made their much-anticipated return to top-flight football last season. They gained automatic promotion, having been crowned the champions of the GladAfrica Championship and in the elite league, the Dube Birds soared under the stewardship of Brandon Truter.
Swallows won the MTN8 back to 2012 under coach Zeca Marques, before they were relegated two seasons later. Truter, though, says they are aiming to start a new chapter, given that they’ve grown in leaps and bounds, recently.
“2012 was a long time ago, we are now writing a new chapter. I am in my second season with the club and hopefully this will be the time where we should be winning things, considering where we come from as a team as well,” Truter explained.
Truter knows what it will mean for their fans if they win the MTN8, but says “they have to get to the final and past a very tricky opponent in Cape Town City. So, I think let’s get into the final first and then talk about winning the trophy. But I think it will mean a lot”.
The Birds started their campaign on a high note, bundling last season’s champions Orlando Pirates out after their 2-1 win in the quarterfinal. But their job is still cut out for them as they’ll still need to get past City, a side that’s coached by Eric
Tinkler.
Tinkler was the first coach to win a trophy for City since their establishment in 2016, with their triumph in the Telkom Knockout. Tinker, from thereon, went on to inspire SuperSport United to the MTN8 crown before he moved around in the top-flight.
The Citizens welcome Swallows at Athlone Stadium on Sunday with a bit of advantage, given that they won their last away match against Royal AM, while they kept a clean sheet at home in their opening league match against SuperSport United last Saturday.
“Credit to Cape Town City. It won’t be an easy game against City at their own ground, even this season, they have scored a number of times,” said Truter.