MILFORD FC rewrites PSL Promotion/Relegation Play-off history by advancing to the Betway Premiership after a 1-1 draw with Magesi FC at the Seshego Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday afternoon.
Star midfielder Menzi Chili’s 59th-minute strike ensured that Milford became the first National First Division side to rise to the Premiership via the play-offs in the post-Covid19 era.
Former Kaizer Chiefs winger and Zimbabwe-born Chirambadare scored first to keep survival hopes alive for Magesi in the 14th minute.
Milford looked to fight back, but the match remained balanced thereafter, leading to Magesi going into half-time with that slender lead.
The mission was clear for the Richards Bay-based side, Milford, upon their return: find the equaliser and keep the home side pressed. A goal eventually came for Milford, with a strike from Chili finding its way past a sea of legs and into the back of the net.
Milford had high hopes going into the Seshego encounter, as they needed simply a draw to win the mini-league and gain promotion to the top tier of South African football.
What gave them high hopes was the 1-1 draw between Cape Town City and Magesi in Cape Town mid-week.
That draw ended City’s promotion hopes, as they finished their matches on four points.
However, Milford faced a tough challenge to rewrite the recent history of the PSL Promotion Play-offs; no First Division side had been promoted to the top flight via winning the play-offs in recent seasons.
Looking back at the past four years since Covid-19, Chippa United, Swallows FC, Richards Bay, and Orbit College were all top-flight sides when they survived the play-offs and retained their Premiership status.
Outcomes of the PSL Promotion Play-offs in recent seasons:
2025: Orbit College FC won the play-offs to maintain their top-flight status.
2024: Richards Bay FC finished 15th in the top division but successfully won the play-offs to keep their top-flight status.
2022: Swallows FC survived the play-offs to remain in the Premiership.
2021: Chippa United successfully defended their status to avoid relegation.
Milford, though, were already high on adrenaline going into the play-offs after missing out on automatic promotion in a season where they reached the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.
In the Premiership, Milford join AmaZulu, Lamontville Golden Arrows, Durban City, and their homeboys Richards Bay to return the number of KZN sides to five.
The grass looks greener for KZN football after City ended a 17-year trophy drought for the province by winning the Nedbank Cup last month, and three teams — AmaZulu, Arrows and City— finished in the Top-Eight.
