Kovsies FC have been crowned champions of the Free State SAB Provincial Play Offs after a regional play off played at the Flavious Mareka Stadium in Sasolburg.

A win and two draws in the tightly contested round robin were enough to see the club from the Mangaung region book a place in next season’s SAFA ABC Motsepe League.

The play offs, which were played over a two-day period, produced some exciting action for fans who came out in numbers to rally behind their team.

Day 1 (Saturday, 20 May) saw two matches taking place where Young Masters held Kovsies FC to a 1-1 draw in what was a very tactical approach from both sides. In another fixture played simultaneously, Small Tigers edged Days FC by a narrow 2-1 margin to gain maximum points in their opening match.

Days FC redeemed themselves on Day 2 (Sunday, 21 May) with a 5-0 drubbing of Young Masters in the first match of the day – a result which turned the log standings on its head.

Small Tigers hoped to continue where they left off the previous day and were certain of another win until they allowed Kovsies to sneak in a last minute equaliser and share the spoils.

A win in their final match could have handed Tigers the title but a disappointing performance when it mattered the most resulted in a 4-0 loss to Young Masters.

The outcome worked in Kovsies’ favour as they hammered Days FC 4-1 in a simultaneous fixture to snatch the title in a dramatic fashion.

Final Results

Saturday, 20 May: Day 1

Young Masters    1 – 1        Kovsies

Days FC              1 – 2        Small Tigers

Sunday, 21 May: Day 2

Young Masters    0 – 5        Days FC

Small Tigers        1 – 1        Kovsies

Small Tigers        0 – 4        Young Masters

Kovsies               4 – 1        Days FC

Special Awards:

Coach of the tournament:                             Godfrey Tenoff (Kovsies)

Player of the tournament:                            Thabo Lesibe (Kovsies)

Goalkeeper of the tournament:                  Lekone Tenoff (Kovsies)

Top Goal scorer:                                          Diphaphang Mokoena (Days FC)

Referee of the tournament:                        Moses Kheswa

Assistant Referee of the tournament:     Kgothatso Hlatswayo

Sourced from the SAFA website.