It was a dream come true for Glendene United who finally put their ABC Motsepe League jitters to bed, when they were crowned champions of the Western Cape Region on Saturday afternoon at the Westridge Sports Complex in Mitchells Plain.
The Bradley August-coached Glendene had gone into their final match of the season in poll position, needing nothing less than a draw against 12th placed Knysna Bafana, who are coached by former Vasco da Gama and FC Cape Town marksman Marcelino Fransch.
Having lead the league for the most part of the season after losing only three matches, the Athlone-based club could ill afford for complacency to creep in, especially with an inform Steenberg United breathing down their necks in second position, waiting to pounce.
Knysna Bafana dominated the opening exchanges, causing some nervy moments for the Glendene supporters who have experienced heartache before, the club having finished in second position for the past two seasons.
History however had no chance of repeating itself, as Glendene held on for a 0-0 draw, securing their place in NFD promotional play-offs which take place in Kimberley from July 22-26.
August went on to share his thoughts on the match: “We struggled, we didn’t play our free-flowing football. They were more determined, but we did what we had to do and we got the result."
The 36 year old former Bafana Bafana striker will now have to shift gears for the national play-offs:
“I have a long way to go in coaching still. I’m happy with my achievements, but now the preparations start as we head into the play-offs. It’s a bit difficult because we have to wait a few weeks before we head to Kimberley. If we do well we will have two to three weeks to prepare for the NFD. It’s tough but it’s better to be in this situation than to have no NFD opportunity,” he concluded.
It was also a proud day for chairman Shaffie Mowzer, who just a couple of months ago saw the club’s Under-19 side winning the Bayhill tournament:
“It is a tremendous achievement, and I think Glendene deserves to be in the NFD,” he said. “After two seasons coming second, we’ve done the business this year. Over the last three or four weeks, I think the pressure told. The young players struggled with the pressure from leading the league for so long. The two draws and the loss to Steenberg made it a lot more difficult, but the [league] victory was sweet…”
