Chief Jerry Nkosi High School were crowned the new Copa Coca-Cola national champions at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
The Mpumalanga side overcame Gauteng’s School of Excellence in a thrilling finale that ended in a 3-2 penalty victory, following a tight 2-2 draw in regulation time.
Mpumalanga were the first to find the back of the net in the early stages of the first half before the School of Excellence levelled matters and went 2-1 up before the end of the first half.
As expected, Chief Jerry Nkosi came out more determined in the second half in search of the equalizer, which they eventually found to send the game to penalties.
Preceding the final was the third and fourth place play-off which saw Dr Reginald Cingo of Free State edging Limpopo’s Northern Academy 1-0 to claim the bronze medal.
Port Elizabeth's Ndzondelelo High School finished fifth in the competition.
After successfully completing the provincial and national finals phase, the closing chapter for this year’s tournament will be the COPA Coca-Cola Future Stars camp, which will be held at the High Performance Centre, in Pretoria between September 22 and 28.