Stellies a rising force in SA football

Stellenbosch FC are establishing themselves as a rising force in South African football after defeating heavy hitters in the continental and domestic arenas.

In the past month, Stellenbosch did the impossible by inflicting defeats on the much-vaunted Mamelodi Sundowns side in successive weeks.

Sundowns have the country’s most expensive players in their ranks but in two matches they failed to score a goal even though Stellenbosch could not host the second leg.

On the same day that Stellenbosch achieved the second-leg win, they also celebrated a come-from-behind victory over Sundowns’ Diski Challenge team. Given the unrivalled success of Sundowns, who have entrenched themselves as the kings of South African football, the Chloorkop-based club has been the destination of choice for the country’s finest up-and-coming talents.

This win speaks to the promising prospects in the club’s youth ranks which enjoyed the international spotlight in August when Stellenbosch were crowned 2024 Premier League Next Generation Cup champions following a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in England.

Last weekend Stellenbosch qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup group stages with a 3-1 aggregate win over DRC giants AS Vita Club, 15-time winners of the Kinshasa-based league. AS Vita Club are former CAF Champions League title-holders and former Confederation Cup runners-up.

After winning the first leg 2-0 in Cape Town, Stellenbosch needed to protect this lead in the second leg, and they exceeded all expectations in Kinshasa.

They were taken for an unscheduled joy ride after arriving in the DRC capital. Instead of taking the Stellenbosch contingent from the airport to the team hotel after a 4000km flight, the bus driver took them on a circuitous route. The GPS on the players’ phones showed that the driver was taking a roundabout route. It was the kind of gamesmanship the squad had been warned about.

Just over 23,000 local fans pitched for the second leg clash at the intimidating Stade des Martyrs, but Stellenbosch showed nerves of steel as they played most of the match with 10 players. On the stroke of half-time, Ivory Coast-born defender Ismaël Touré was shown a second yellow and given his marching orders by Sierra Leonean referee Mohamed Conteh.

Stellenbosch had no complaints about the second yellow, but the first yellow was somewhat obscure because it happened during a break in first-half play. Touré had something to say to Conteh who retaliated by showing him a yellow card.

The yellow card came on top of a disallowed first-half goal by striker Lehlogonolo Mojela. Despite the double whammy, Stellenbosch secured a 1-1 stalemate. It was historic because the club qualified for a continental competition in their debut attempt.

Earlier in the season Stellenbosch, unlike AS Vita, had to play in first-round preliminary matches against Nsingizini Hotspurs, the Eswatini Premier League champs. They saw off the Eswatini challenge with an 8-0 aggregate result.

Stellenbosch’s next milestone will be the MTN8 final at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium, where almost the entire crowd will be rooting for the opposition, Orlando Pirates, with an exception of some expected Kaizer Chiefs fans.

You can bet Pirates gaffer José Riveiro must be having sleepless nights because he’s never faced a team that has beaten the star-studded Sundowns on consecutive Saturdays, and failed to concede a goal.