Without a doubt, Swallows FC is dear to Ramahlwe Mphahlele’s heart after they handed him his topflight debut as a schoolboy many years ago. Mphahlele was thrown into the fray by Ian Gorowa at the start of the 2007/08 league campaign on August 15, 2007.
The unforgettable debut for the boy from Ga-Mphahlele in Limpopo was against ‘The Mighty Bucs’ – Orlando Pirates at Ellis Park. How would he ever forget it after it ended in a 1-0 win for The Dube Birds, thanks to a strike by Cecil Oerson.
Gorowa, who is now a pastor in Johannesburg, vividly recalls the day a 17-year-old ‘Rama’ made his maiden appearance in the topflight. So confident was he in the teenager that he gave him the entire 90 minutes at right-back.
And the boy, he says, repaid his trust as he thwarted Bennett Chenene along with Jorry Merahe and Tlou Segolela, who took turns trying to stretch the youngster.
Almost 15 years later, Rama has a whole different mission – this time as a veteran in Kaizer Chiefs colours. Sadly, that mission may put his beloved Swallows to the sword. An unfavourable result for The Birds may spell their demise if Baroka gets a positive result against Maritzburg United.
Swallows go into the match desperately needing maximum points and results in other games to go in their favour to survive relegation. They are currently sitting in 15th position with 25 points – the same as Baroka FC below them.
But all that will not matter for the 32-year-old Mphahlele as Chiefs want to finish in a better position. “It’s part of football; they are aware of the situation they are in, they are going to come out hard on us, they want points. This is another game that we have to prepare well for; we’ll do our best to win the game,” said Mphahlele.
“I used to play for them [Swallows FC] years back, they are a special team to me, but we’ll be fighting for three points on Saturday. May the best team win.”
Amakhosi have been eyeing to get back-to-back victories since early March. “We want to continue where we left off, we were solid against Sekhukhune, but we know it’s not going to be easy because they got everything to fight for, and we’ll fight for three points. We want to finish on a high note. We’ll give our best.”
