IF you believe in celestial influences, you’d say it was truly written in the stars for JDR!
The Gauteng club are on cloud nine after they gained promotion to the National First Division (NFD).
They beat Steenberg United 1-0 in the final to win the ABC Motsepe League play-offs in Cape Town at the weekend.
But the road to glory was paved with hardships for the Pretoria-based outfit, who had to squeeze into the play-offs via the back door.
This followed a decision by the Safa arbitration process to disqualify Dondol, the initial provincial champions, from the play-offs after they were found guilty of corruption.
That misfortune opened the door for the second-placed JDR to take their place and represent Gauteng in the play-offs.
And boy, they made full use of their second chance!
Not only have they earned a spot in the NFD, they have also pocketed a whopping R1 million in prize as the play-offs champions.
Runners up Steenberg, who will also be joining JDR in the NFD next season, walked away with R500 000 for their efforts.
The Hammer Boys, as JDR are affectionately known, are now determined to give a good account of themselves in the Second Division of Mzansi football next season.
Their CEO, Tumi Kganaga, said they have already started to plan for next season.
“We will keep most of our current squad, if not all‚ and then get a couple more through the door just to improve on what we already have,” said Kganaga.
“We don’t want to be making up the numbers in the NFD, we want to compete.
“It is important that we keep growing as a club and for that to happen, we need to approach this new challenge with a lot of positivity.”