Birds fail to soar even after tongue lashing
ALEXANDRA – Birds coach Malvin Khumalo is pressing the panic button as his girls continue a downward slide in the Sasol Women's League.
Not even the serious midweek tongue-lashing from coach Malvin Khumalo was enough to lift the spirits of the Bluebirds Ladies as they were demolished 5–0 by a spirited Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Ladies.
Billed by Khumalo as their ‘make or break’ tie of the Sasol Women’s League at the Alexandra Stadium, the Beautiful Birds as they have come to be known by their fans, failed to pull up their socks and rise to the occasion.
The smashing of the Birds comes after some raving reviews from scouts of the South African Football Association who are on a fishing expedition for quality players to fortify Banyana Banyana.
These scouts have been to various matches of Banyana ba Malvin (Malvin’s Girls) and were quite impressed with what they saw as they videotaped their games for analysis.
Read: Prodigal girl of Alex football leaves the wilderness for the Birds nest
The scouts even referred the Birds to an SABC sports crew seeking to do a documentary on a less resourced team. This was at a time when the Birds were flying high and wreaking havoc in the Sasol League. They opened with an away 6–1 win over Savol Ladies, followed by a 1–1 draw against Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies which is considered as good as a win against the powerhouse of women’s football in the country.
The Birds went on to crack another 3–1 win at newly promoted Nicko Tauraus Ladies but as the coach put it, the engine began to fall apart when they lost a match they should have easily won, going down 2–1 to Tuks Ladies.
After the Tuks disappointment, the Birds bounced back with a 4–1 win over North West University of the Vaal Ladies followed by a 2–0 victory against crosstown rivals, Soweto Fabulous Ladies.
But Khumalo was not so impressed with the Soweto win as he expected the goal margin to have been much higher considering the chances her girls wasted.
“I am not happy with this win at all, as I expected the girls to demolish such opposition with a much higher goal margin so we could keep up with the big guns who are ruthless when it comes to weaker teams, banging close to two digit goals,” Khumalo said after the Fabulous match.
The Birds then went on to lose 0–3 away to Springs Home Sweepers followed by the TUT demolition. The loss to Home Sweepers prompted Khumalo’s midweek ultimatum of ‘shape up or ship out’ warning to the girls.
But the season is still young and the Birds can bounce back to winning ways and challenge for honours if they become motivated and focused on the job at hand. Next for Birds is the University of Johannesburg away on 27 May and then Palace Super Falcons at home on 3 June.
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