Aubrey Lekwane on that screamer that made the late Stanley Tshabalala faint

Former Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows star midfielder Aubrey “Sense of Knowledge” Lekwane has recounted the events of a night in 1997 at Odi Stadium when his shot collapsed the late Stanley “Screamer” Tshabalala. 

Lekwane scored a long-range stunner in the closing stages in a match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Swallows, a story that has become part of South African football folklore. 

The former Birds midfielder said he did not see when Tshabalala fainted but this is a legendary story that has followed him since that night in Mabopane, outside Pretoria. 

“About that incident, after I scored I went to celebrate. The game was left with about two minutes and when I came back from celebrating he was down already,” said Lekwane, who is now a South African Football Association Local Football Association coaching instructor in Atteridgeville. 

“I didn’t see him, I saw nothing, because after the final whistle I was called to do interviews with [Swallows] coach Mike Mangena. They started with me and he [Mangena] asked me to wait for him to do his interview. 

“I only saw what happened on the video. I just heard that Screamer fainted. I got the video after I retired, that’s when I saw him being carried on a stretcher and supporters throwing things at him and it was bad.” 

Lekwane took a trip down memory lane on his eventful career in the 1990s, including his opinion that Pirates teammate Teboho Moloi was more skilled than Kaizer Chiefs superstar Doctor Khumalo.