Moroka Swallows disregarded the old adage of not looking a gift horse in the mouth and failed to grasp the rare opportunity of beating a listless, 10-man Kaizer Chiefs in the 1-1 Premier League derby at Germiston Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Swallows, who somehow contrived to make matters difficult for themselves against their traditional Soweto rivals, this time secured a point that earns them third place in the PSL log, but it should have been a good deal more profitable for the Birds in front of an 18 000 crowd as they overwhelmed and outplayed their opponents in the second period.
Long before Chiefs’ Tinashe Nengomasha was red-carded in the 77th minute for a second, provocative yellow-card offence, the Birds were dominating their opponents after upgrading their play significantly after halftime.
But with a golden opportunity of driving the nails into Chiefs’ coffin, Swallows performed as though they could not believe their good fortune and squandered numerous opportunities.
And the miss-of-the-game from Evans Gwekwerere from 5m in the 81st minute had all the elements of an April Fool’s joke, with Swallows coach Gavin Hunt not far off the mark when he suggested the Zimbabwean international substitute could have netted a second-half hat trick of his own.
Not that the hapless Gwekwerere was alone in squandering chances for Swallows, with Mark Haskins not much better in this department. The Birds gifted their opponents the game’s opening goal in the sixth minute when goalkeeper Greg Etafia needlessly upended Kaizer Motaung jnr and conceded a penalty.
Motaung took the twice-taken penalty himself and placed the ball in the net on both occasions after retaking the kick as a result of players prematurely entering the penalty area.
Both teams missed a succession of scoring chances in a mundane opening period, before Swallows equalised with what turned out to be the highlight of the game in the 50th minute.
A deceptive, multi-passing movement was rounded off with a rasping, 20m shot from Namibian international Henrico Botes, which seemingly placed Swallows in the driver’s seat.
In spite of salvaging a point, Chiefs slipped from fifth place to seventh in the PSL log and could have their hands full in qualifying for next season’s Supa8 competition — particularly as eighth-placed Bloemfontein Celtic and ninth-paced Orlando Pirates have games in hand. – Sapa