Musa Nyatama relieved to snap Swallows 13-game winless streak

The Dube Birds narrowly beat their DStv Premiership relegation rivals Cape Town Spurs 1-0 at Athlone Stadium on Sunday afternoon thanks to a well-taken goal from striker Gabadinho Mhango in the dying minutes of the clash. 

REPORT: Mhango the hero as Swallows sink Cape Town Spurs

Nyatama admits the pressure was almost unbearable.

"There's too much pressure, especially at the bottom [of the log], so each and every point counts. I could also feel [the pressure] on my side, and I could even see the players were not motivated at times," said Nyatama.

"They didn't have the courage [to fight], but we had to motivate and push them to always get the maximum [amount of] points."

Swallows made wholesale changes to the squad in January on the back of disputes and internal hearings, after the squad failed to honour a league match against Mamelodi Sundowns in December, and Nyatama defends the new faces needed time. 

"It has been a difficult situation for us, knowing very well that we have new players – Ntsiki Nyauza, Ntsiki Ngqonga, the entire team," he added.

"It's almost three players who were there in the first round, but the entire team is new – Roland [Sanou], Lwande [Mbanjwa], and some of these boys are young.

"But we needed the combinations and that unity from them, so it's coming up slowly but surely, even though we are not yet there."

Swallows on Wednesday host a Pirates outfit still reeling from their defeat to Sekhukhune United on Saturday, so beating Spurs was a huge turning point for Nyatama, who feels some weight off his shoulders. 

"The three points today eases off the pressure a little bit, even though we know 30 points could be [enough], but we're not sure this season, with Richards Bay and Cape Town Spurs coming up," he noted.

"They've been playing very well and collecting points, but we shouldn't be checking them, we need to focus on ourselves, get maximum points. 

"We've still got 27 points to play for, let's see how many points we're going to get, but we'll try and reach the maximum, and we'll just take it one game at a time."

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