Xanti Pupuma eyes final push as Milford near Betway Premiership dream

The KwaZulu-Natal outfit continued their impressive playoff campaign with a dramatic 1-0 victory over Magesi FC at the uMhlathuze Sports Complex on Wednesday. Substitute Khanyisani Radebe emerged as the hero, scoring a stoppage-time winner to hand the Stallions a crucial three points.

The victory followed Milford's opening win against Cape Town City and leaves them sitting at the top of the mini-league standings with six points from two matches. Magesi occupy second place on three points, while Cape Town City remain rooted to the bottom without a point.

Speaking after the match, Pupuma praised his players for keeping their fate firmly in their own hands.

"I think it's not that far," Pupuma told SABC Sport.

"The most important thing is that we kept it in our hands by doing this (beating Magesi). That has always been the emphasis - to keep it in our hands, try to dictate terms and hopefully continue showing that over the weekend."

The Milford mentor also backed his squad to rise to the occasion despite the mounting pressure that comes with being on the brink of promotion.

"Most of the boys have played enormous football today (gave their all), so hopefully they will show up on the weekend and we can get something from the game. We don't need a lot of points, but I am not going to say how much we need. There are two games left and we know the kind of points that will put us in a good position."

Milford's destiny remains firmly in their control ahead of Saturday's home clash against Cape Town City.

A victory would move the Stallions within touching distance of a place in South Africa's top flight while simultaneously ending City's hopes of surviving through the playoffs.

Should Milford secure another three points, the pressure would shift onto Magesi, who would then need a positive result against the Citizens to keep their promotion ambitions alive.

That scenario would set up a potentially decisive final showdown between Dikwena Tsa Meetse and the Stallions to determine who claims the coveted Betway Premiership berth.