Enesia push past Dinare into Premier League dreamland
4-2 down after the first leg, Enesia FC faced the proverbial mountain to climb.
With Sunday’s second-leg locked at 0-0 after 45 minutes, the tie appeared all but over.
But football has a funny way of writing its own stories.
And so it proved, as newly-formed Enesia rewrote history, coming back from the brink to stun Dinare FC and secure promotion to the FNB Premiership.
In front of a packed Old Francistown Stadium, Vakuru, under the guidance of youthful coach Keoleboge ‘Kgotla’ Motsamai, produced a stunning second-half turnaround.
The Gerald Estates-based outfit scored two quick goals to level matters and, just as Dinare looked set to regroup, struck again in the 75th minute to send their supporters into a frenzy.
The match had been preceded by plenty of off-field drama, with both clubs engaging in psychological warfare in the days leading up to the decisive encounter.
The mind games/dark arts continued on match day as the teams practiced what is commonly referred to as ‘chemical engineering’ – a controversial yet widespread football ritual in which teams openly sprinkle water, salt, or other ‘spiritual substances’ believed to bring good fortune.
Whatever Dinare used, it did not work!
Inside the stadium, the mood was tense.
Nervous Enesia supporters sat quietly, out-sung by a small but vocal group of Dinare fans who made the 470km journey from Ramotswa believing the job was done after their commanding first-leg display.
They were sorely mistaken.
That mood shifted dramatically when around 70 members of the famous Tonota FC choir entered the stadium.
With their club already crowned First Division North champions and automatic promotion long-since assured, the choir had come to support their fellow FDN campaigners and help push them over the line.
Rivalries were set aside as clubs united behind Enesia. From the stands, supporters of TAFIC, Eleven Angels and Calendar Stars made their allegiance clear: they were all behind Vakuru.
The ‘Spondosa Debola’ choir broke into song, setting the tone for what would become a historic Premier League playoff.
The first half itself offered little excitement, littered with misplaced passes and disjointed attacks, both sides hamstrung by the occasion.
Yet while the football struggled to ignite, the choir provided nonstop entertainment, pausing only briefly to watch sporadic attacks that repeatedly fizzled out at the final moment.
The teams went into the break with the game goalless, Dinare’s two-goal cushion looking plump and increasingly secure, the club one-half of football away from the elite league after a gruelling 23-game season.
But inside the Enesia dressing room, belief never faded.
From the opening whistle of the second half, it was obvious this would not be a routine evening.
The Blues returned rejuvenated, launching wave after wave of attacks.
Enesia pressed relentlessly, chasing every loose ball as though their entire season depended on it. It did!
Their intensity unsettled Dinare’s usually composed backline, which began to waiver under pressure.
The substitution of defensive midfielder, Ronnie Leagetse left the Ramotswa side exposed in midfield. The former TAFIC and Angels hard man, playing on a yellow card, was living dangerously and was hooked to avoid a red.
Sensing vulnerability, with his team awarded a free-kick, Coach Motsamai made a double substitution on the hour mark, introducing Keabetswe Rekiso and Malvern Moyo for Kudzani Sibanda and Monei Phatsima.
The impact was immediate.
From the resultant set-piece, Rekiso found the net with his very first touch, finishing off a cleverly executed dead-ball routine from Mbatshi Elias.
Dinare’s defence had finally been breached and suddenly the floodgates opened.
Two minutes later, Elias completed another flowing move to level the aggregate score at 4-4. With 28 minutes still remaining, the tie was wide open.
Then came the defining moment.
In the 75th minute, Rekiso, who had carried much of the blame for the first-leg defeat, completed his redemption story with a stunning strike to hand Enesia the lead. The Dinare supporters were stunned into silence.
“Le a e bona banna, e chaile! (It’s over now!),” roared the Tonota FC choir as celebrations erupted around the stadium.
Suddenly, the Ramotswa side looked lost and were fortunate not to concede again before the final whistle. Their misery was compounded when they were reduced to 10 men late on, Mpho Kgomo receiving his marching orders.
When the match finally ended, Dinare’s distraught players collapsed onto the grass in disbelief. It was an afternoon of total capitulation.
From a position of complete control, they had allowed the tie and promotion to slip through their fingers.
For Vakuru the comeback was complete.
In just over a year, a club founded by dreamers had transformed itself from an unknown project into a Premier League side.
With Nyangabgwe Hill looming large in the background, the mountain was climbed; an even bigger one awaits next season…
