Facing early pressure from an in-form Kaizer Chiefs, Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt made a bold move by introducing Chumani Butsaka for Wayde Jooste after just 33 minutes.
Flavio Silva scord for Chiefs almost immediately, just two minutes later, but an improved Stellies were back on level terms when Langelihle Phili equalised five minutes into the second half, and Devin Titus completed the comeback with the winning goal after 86 minutes of the match.
The result saw Stellies move into 11th place on the Betway Premiership standings, with 19 points from 17 games.
Chiefs ended the evening in fourth place with 30 points from 16 games, eight adrift of league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, with one game in hand.
READ: Stellenbosch Stun Kaizer Chiefs to seal comeback victory
Reflecting on the game, a delighted Hunt praised his side and Butsaka, who he said made all the difference in the tie.
“I thought the player that changed the game tonight was Chumani,” he said on IOL. “I thought he was the difference in the game, in both teams, in the second half.
“And there’s another one, you know, really good player and somebody that can do so much more for us.”
Hunt further explained his decision, adding: “I thought we needed to change the shape in the midfield. Because they, you know, they keep their players wide. But they keep dropping short in midfield and we never had enough numbers in there.
“We never got enough pressure on the ball. That’s why they were dropping the ball in behind us.
“So, we got to get a bit more pressure in the middle third of the pitch. And we had to do that. So, obviously, I changed the shape of the midfield.
“And they picked up everything. Because they were overloading us in there. So, sometimes you’ve got to see it early and do it, you know.”