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The sky’s the limit for high-flying rookies Swallows FC after finishing the year atop the DStv Premiership standings with champion Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Soweto club is only in second place due to its lower goal difference with the first quarter of the season completed.
Swallows won his fifth game in eight starts, including three draws, and had to work hard for this 2-1 road win in sweltering heat in Venda.
The victory lifted Swallows back to second place and tied the Sundowns on 18 points, which took place at the Lamontville Golden Arrows on Saturday, as the Premier Soccer League (PSL) played its final round of matches before the Christmas break. .
Leopards took the lead in the sixth minute at Thohoyandou Stadium on a hot Sunday afternoon via Onyedikachi Ononogbu after a superb team play that ended with Zimbabwean international Ovidy Karuru providing the assist for Ivory Park-born Ononogbu to his first goal of the season.
Ruzaigh Gamildien leveled shortly before the break when he hit a low cross from Thabo Matlaba and fired into the back of the net to make it 1-1.
Substitute Joseph Mhlongo, playing against his previous employers before joining Swallows, scored the winning goal with 20 minutes remaining and his goal will be one of the goals of the season.
Mhlongo picked up the ball near the corner line on the left flank and cut inside before launching a fierce curly shot with his right foot that Swallows goalkeeper Virgil Vries could only see pass him to ring the net for give the Brendan Truter team an edge they never gave up.
Sundowns could have finished the year leading by two clear points at the top, but their 1-1 draw on the road against Arrows opened the door for Swallows, who sentenced Leopards to their fourth loss in eight games.
The Leopards, who survived the haircut last season, finish the year second from the bottom after having won just once and tied twice for their five points in eight starts.
Coach Dylan Kerr will be keenly aware of the work his team must do in the new year to stay away from relegation spots.
Kerr regretted that his team took the lead only to return the initiative to Swallows with a smooth draw and a lackluster mark that allowed Mhlongo time and space to shoot from the edge of the area.
“Once you’ve scored, you’re on the front foot, and you need to take the game to the opponents. Unfortunately we did not. We continued to give away the ball, which encouraged them to come forward, ”Kerr said in his post-game television interview.
“It’s disappointing”.
Kerr’s counterpart, Truter, was over the moon with the result and the position that Swallows finds with the first quarter of the league season completed.
“There is still a lot of football to play and we are not going to get carried away. I need to keep the team grounded.
“We are on par with the defending champions in points. That’s praise, but there is still a lot of football to play,” Truter said.
The Premiership action will return with a highly successful meeting between the Sundowns and Orlando Pirates at Loftus on January 2.
Swallows will be in action three days after hosting Cape Town and they will hope to get back to the form that has seen them together at the top after eight games in the new year.
Other Premiership Results: Friday, December 18:
Maritzburg United 2 – 2 Stellenbosch FC
Saturday December 19:
Golden Arrows 1 – 1 Mamelodi Sundowns
Kaizer Chiefs 1 – 1 Bloemfontein Celtic
Baroka FC 1 – 3 SuperSport United
Cape Town 3 – 2 TS Galaxy
Sunday December 20:
AmaZulu 3 – 1 Chippa United
Black Leopards 1-2 Swallows FC
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