Pelembe scores stunner to clip Birds' wings and send Royal AM second

Veteran Elias Pelembe showed his class and repaid the faith shown in him by chair Shauwn Mkhize and coach John Maduka, scoring a goal of the highest quality with the last kick of the match as 10-man Royal AM defeated Swallows FC 1-0 to go second in the DStv Premiership standings.

The 38-year-old Mozambican Pelembe replaced Kamogelo Mashikinya shortly after the restart at Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday and the one-time SA Footballer of the Year and four-time Premiership winner struck a bicycle kick that could have made Paulo Di Canio proud past Thela Ngobeni. The bemused Swallows goalkeeper did not even move an inch as the ball was struck.

Dylan Kerr’s struggling Swallows left everything on the pitch but missed an opportunity to further pull away from the relegation danger zone. The Birds failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage after Zukile Mkhize was red-carded for a leg-breaking tackle with 20 minutes remaining.

Maduka’s side toppled Kaizer Chiefs from second place and while Royal AM are 15 points behind runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, they will be motivated by a glorious opportunity to play in Caf competitions next season if they hang on to second or third.

Swallows enjoyed possession and created the better chances in the Durban township and will return to Johannesburg knowing that two wins from their last 10 Premiership games is a recipe for disaster.

Kerr will have a lot of nights sleeping with one eye open in the remaining eight matches as the defeat left his team third from bottom with 18 points, a point ahead of bottom clubs TS Galaxy and  Baroka FC.

Swallows still have to play immediate relegation rivals Baroka and Chippa, and mid-table Marumo Gallants and Maritzburg United, two others sides who could be sucked into the dogfight if they slip up.

The win catapulted Royal from third to second on 36 points from 21 matches.

Gauteng MEC for education Panyaza Lesufi, one of the brains behind Swallows' revival, was captured in the stands by the cameras pacing and throwing his hands in the air with each Birds' missed opportunity.

Lesufi knows that the going will only get tougher as Swallows’ remaining matches include tough matchups against Sundowns, AmaZulu, SuperSport United and Chiefs on the final day.

Swallows coach Kerr gave midfielder Thandani Ntshumayelo his second appearance for the club.

Having been struggling to break into the playing squad since joining in July last year, Ntshumayelo eventually made his Swallows debut and played 36 minutes in a 1-0 win over Sekhukhune United in their last league match.

Kerr gave Ntshumayelo 21 minutes against Royal AM and the 31-year-old got stuck in nicely for a man who has not kicked a ball in anger in years.