“This is the greatest moment of my life,” said Sir Alex Ferguson when his side beat Bayern Munich in the summer of ’99, completing their famous Champions League final comeback.
Seeing the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Lindane Nkabinde’s 25-yard cracker of a shot find the back of the net, brought forth the same emotion.
The Noble Boys have proved their worth and have risen from their 3-2 ruins in their first encounter against the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
During the recent epic semi-final and second encounter with UWC, the Noble Boys stumped the critics and nay-sayers, and made the “unthinkable” unfold before their very eyes.
In what will undoubtedly be dubbed one of the greatest upsets in the Varsity Football tournament history and arguably the greatest comeback ever, the Noble Boys fought back from the brink.
They sealed UWC’s fate in the 90th minute with Lindane’s stunning goal, propelling the Noble Boys into the annuls of history by winning their debut semi-final match and advancing to the tournament finals.
The old football adage that says players should keep going until the final whistle makes sense in theory, but is hard to keep at - especially when the lead looks insurmountable and the opposition is very strong.
However, it truly does only take a second to score a goal. With perseverance and determination as shield, the NWU’s Noble Boys bravely stood up, not only as a team of eleven, but as a united purple army - for honour, for glory.
Coach Karabo Masehela’s prophecy that lightening does not strike in the same place twice could not ring truer when the final whistle gave way to NWU’s emergence as winner and contender in the finals.
The NWU Noble Boys will face-off against the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) on Thursday 26 September at the Mahikeng Stadium in what will undoubtedly be a game of margins – all or nothing.
“This is the champions final we deserve to see,” said football writer, Bophelo Seleke. “This is the tournament we deserve, and for me, my money is on the NWU’s jersey numbers 5 and 22, Sibusiso Ndlovu and Lesego Motsepe. In my view, the duo could play for any team, in any league, in any country in the world, and they would never strike a ball more purely than they have in this tournament.”
In addition to the much anticipated match between the Noble Boys and TUT, the scheduled curtain raiser will be that of the Women’s Varsity Football match which will take place on the same day as well. The two games will be broadcast live on SuperSport channels 204/210.
Lindani Nkabinde, the NWU Noble Boys golden goal scorer.
