Birds will stay up – Nomvethe
Striker believes his side has what it takes to win play-offs
DEEP IN THE BOWELS of Dobsonville Stadium, long after referee Robert Smith had blown the final whistle – all associated with Moroka Swallows were still exchanging congratulatory hand-shakes, hugs and high fives.
Some would have said the excitement was a bit premature, as Swallows still have to contest the difficult three-team play-offs to guarantee they stay up in the Absa Premiership. But when you have avoided automatic relegation like the Birds did via a 1-0 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday, celebration is only natural.
That there are four matches looming against two tough National First Division (NFD) sides on a high following a good season that yielded 50 points is something you worry about later.
For scorer Siyabonga Nomvethe though, the key is to never give up, no matter the situation.
“I’ve been encouraging the guys,” he said of the role he played as Swallows’ most experienced player. “I’ve been telling them that in life you must not give up. You must always fight. So we agreed that even if we were to go down, we must do so fighting and our performances must always be improving.”
That much Swallows managed to do in their last few matches – although they let themselves down by failing to focus until the final whistle as they dropped crucial points against SuperSport United, who held them 1-1 via a last minute goal, and Ajax Cape Town, who beat them 2-1 through an injury-time goal.
Had they avoided those mishaps Swallows wouldn’t be going into the play-offs.
“There had been mistakes in the past three months in the way we were playing. But every coach brings his different style and since the new coach (Craig Rosslee) took over everyone has been working hard because we all want to be in the first eleven,” Nomvethe added.
But looking back at their failures to kill off matches that they seemed to be winning and allowing the opposition back in would be tantamount to crying over spilt milk hence Nomvethe is fully focused on helping Swallows do well in the play-offs.
“Going to the first division is not on our minds. You have to think about where you’d get a job; some of the players are not under 23 (the NFD rules dictate that teams field at least five local under 23 players in their starting line-ups) so they know they’ll struggle to get game time. That’s why we fought as hard because we don’t want to go there.”
They will have to fight some more and probably even harder in the play-offs to keep their status though, and ensure further celebrations like those that played out in Dobsonville on Saturday.
“It was very important for the club that we at least win this game to make it to the play-offs. We have a chance of staying up and for sure, 100 percent definitely, you will still see me playing next season,” Nomvethe said with a smile.