Worst start in 4 years!

(At KaLanga Technical Centre)

Red Rhinos…….(0) 1

Celso 85^th (OG)

Mb. Swallows…(1) 1

Thobani 14^th

SITEKI — Mbabane Swallows dropped crucial points against newly-promoted Red Rhinos after an 85th-minute own goal sealed a frustrating draw in Siteki.

An agonising 85^th-minute own goal by defender Celso Chauchane cancelled out a glorious early strike from Thobani Kunene, leaving the ‘Birds’ grounded and still searching for their first win of the 2026/27 MTN Premier League season.

The week two fixture had been postponed from October 4 after Swallows requested a delay due to three players being away on international duty with the national Under-23 side.

Sindiso Gama’s charges were lucky to escape with a point, as William ‘Baggio’ Gamedze’s Rhinos were the better side on the day.

The draw leaves the seven-time league champions languishing in the relegation zone after just three matches played. The last time Swallows failed to win any of their opening three league matches was during the 2022/23 campaign, when they registered three draws before finishing third behind runners-up Young Buffaloes and champions Green Mamba.

However, off-the-pitch financial woes and an exodus of key players have triggered a nightmare start to the current campaign that threatens to set the tone for a far longer, harder season for the ‘Birds’.

Swallows almost burst out of the blocks within seconds of the opening whistle. Sandziso Masuku met a crisp cross from Kunene, but Rhinos goalkeeper Sikhumbuzo Matfonsi tipped the volley over the crossbar to keep a clean sheet.

The ‘Birds’ kept their foot on the gas and drew first blood in the 14^th minute.

South African winger Thobani Kunene latched onto the ball at the edge of the box and unleashed a rocket into the top corner, rattling the post on its way in and leaving Matfonsi rooted to the spot.

That thunderbolt served as a wake-up call for the hosts. Rhinos found their rhythm, orchestrating neat passing triangles in the Swallows half and threatening from a flurry of corner kicks leading up to the half-hour mark. They suffered a blow shortly after when Adriano Massingue was forced off with a dislocated shoulder in the 33^rd minute.

Ncamiso ‘Macembe’ Nkwanyana came close to levelling matters just before the interval, but his 42^nd-minute strike flew inches over the bar.

After the restart, Rhinos picked up where they left off, bossing the game in search of an equaliser. Sabelo Magagula forced an acrobatic reaction save from Swallows goalkeeper Sandanezwe Mathabela five minutes after the hour mark, before Sanele Ngwenya was denied at point-blank range in the 70^th minute.

With Swallows clinging to their slender lead, disaster struck five minutes from time. Boy Boy Mkhabela unleashed a desperate shot into a crowded box, and in a scramble to clear it, Chauchane sliced his clearance straight into his own net.

Rhinos almost turned the game on its head in the dying moments when Bhekani Mtsetfwa was served a winner on a silver platter, but the forward somehow scuffed his tap-in from point-blank range, letting Swallows off the hook as both sides settled for a point.