The 2023 Sasol League National Champs are in full swing in Bloemfontein and three teams have booked their tickets to the semi-finals after only two days.
Croesus FC of Gauteng, Fort Hare University from the Eastern Cape, as well as Limpopo’s Ramatlaohle Ladies can rest easy knowing half the job in the competition is done.
Day three on Thursday, 19 October will see a battle for the fourth spot and any of the six teams playing stand a chance to clinch it.
Croesus and Fort Hare qualified for the last four with outright wins, collecting six points each, while Ramatlaohle managed four points after a win and a draw – and could end up in second place if Ixias, the hosts, who have one point, win by many goals. But a draw will still be enough for the Free State outfit, provided none of the other teams don’t win.
Should the home side fail, then it opens the door for Royal Queens (North West), Sasol Juventus (Mpumalanga), UCT (Western Cape), Lindelani Ladies (KwaZulu Natal) and Royal Wizards (Northern Cape), who all sit on zero points.
If any of the above five qualify, then Ramatlaohle will finish as group leaders.
The matches continue at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium.
Royal Queens kickstart the day at 09h00 with a clash against Sasol Juventus, Ixias FC face the University of Cape Town at 12h30, with Lindelani Ladies going toe to toe with Royal Wizards at 15h30.
OVERALL RESULTS FROM DAY 1:
| GROUP | |||
| DAY ONE – 17 October 23 | |||
| UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN (WC) | 1 – 3 | RAMATLAOHLE LADIES (LIM) | C |
| ROYAL WIZARDS (NC) | 2 – 4 | FORT HARE UNIVERSITY (EC) | B |
| SASOL JUVENTUS (MP) | 1 – 5 | CROESUS (GP) | A |
| DAY TWO – 18 October 23 | |||
| FORT HARE UNIVERSITY (EC) | 1 – 0 | LINDELANI LADIES (KZN) | B |
| CROESUS (GP) | 3 – 1 | ROYAL QUEENS (NW) | A |
| RAMATLAOHLE LADIES (LP) | 1 – 1 | IXIAS FC (FS) | C |
LATEST GROUP STANDINGS:
| Position | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
| GROUP A | |||||||||
| Croesus | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 | |
| Royal Queens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 | |
| Sasol Juventus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 | |
| GROUP B | |||||||||
| Fort Hare University | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Lindelani Ladies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | |
| Royal Wizards | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | |
| GROUP C | |||||||||
| Ramatlaohle Ladies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Ixias FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| University of Cape Town | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 | |
DAY 3 FIXTURES: Thursday, 19 October 2023
| TIME | GROUP | |||
| ROYAL QUEENS | vs | SASOL JUVENTUS | 09H00 | A |
| IXIAS FC | vs | UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN | 12H30 | C |
| LINDELANI LADIES | vs | ROYAL WIZARDS | 15H30 | B |
By Matlhomola Morake
