Reigning Hollywoodbets Super League champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies had to wait for the referee’s optional time to secure three points in a 2-1 win over a stubborn First Touch FC at the Oscar Mphetha Stadium at the University of Limpopo on Sunday (26 February).
Three matches, three wins for the Brazilians who are back at the top of the log standings.
Fresh from Türkiye where she was part of the Banyana Banyana squad at the Turkish Women’s Cup, forward Lelona Daweti needed just eight minutes to put the visitors ahead. But with their never-say-die attitude, the hosts restored parity five minutes from full time.
With everyone resigned to the idea that the spoils will be shared, Lesotho international Boitumelo Rabale pounced in additional time to hand the Brazilians victory, while the home side suffered their third defeat in as many matches.
Last season, Sundowns Ladies cruised against Dikgoshigadi – defeating them 4-0 in the away clash, before doubling the score (8-0) in the reverse fixture, with Rabale (hattrick) and Daweti (brace) the destroyers in chief.
This was the seventh meeting between the two sides, and Banyana ba Style have been triumphant in six, while First Touch tasted victory just once.
In the second fixture of the day at the University of Limpopo, Royal AM (formerly Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies) beat newcomers Copperbelt Ladies of Limpopo 3-1 to jump into second place on the league table. The KZN-based side is on seven points, just two behind the log leaders.
This was Royal AM’s second victory of the season (with one draw) in three matches, while Copperbelt lost their second match in the campaign – leaving them 11th on the table with just one win.
In Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) was the last team standing in the battle of the Universities – beating the University of Johannesburg (UJ Ladies) 2-0.
Midfielder Sibulele Holweni struck in the fourth minute to give the coastal side a half time lead before Fiona Ndlovu sealed victory with the second goal in the 78th minute.
The result sees the Capetonians registering their sixth win against UJ Ladies in seven outings, with one match drawn.
The two institutions of higher learning are tied on six points each – but UWC has a better goal difference and also a game in hand.
Debutants TS Galaxy Queens are in fifth place after their second win of the season in three matches. The Mpumalanga outfit beat the Tshwane University of Technology(TUT) 2-0 at the KwaMhlanga Stadium.
TS Galaxy is also on six points while TUT sits two points behind.
At the Wits Stadium, JVW needed a late goal from Robyn Moodaly to collect maximum points against a determined Ma-Indies of Limpopo, who are yet to defeat the Gauteng club since both were promoted to the elite women’s league in 2021.
The Blue Diamonds are on four points, occupying the seventh spot and Ma-Indies are bottom of the table.
After going down to Sundowns Ladies in their opening match of the 2023 campaign, Richmond Ladies managed their first win of the season – and were the biggest winners this weekend as they fired five goals against Durban Ladies, who could only reply with two of their own (5-2).
Only two fixtures ended in draws.
At the Isaac Wolfson Stadium in Gqeberha, hosts City Lads Ladies were held to a goalless draw by newcomers University of Pretoria (Amatuks), giving the latter their first point in the league in three outings.
The struggling Coal City Wizards, who are 15th on the log standings also shared the spoils with Thunderbirds Ladies at the Puma Stadium in Mpumalanga.
Twenty one goals were scored in eight matches this weekend in fixtures which saw six teams registering victory – three home teams, and three away sides collected maximum points.
- 8 matches
- 21 goals
- 6 results
- 3 home wins (Richmond United, UWC & JVW)
- 3 away wins (Sundowns Ladies, TS Galaxy Queens & Royal AM)
- 2 draws
Hollywoodbets Super League Results :
Richmond United 5-2 Durban Ladies
City Lads 0-0 University of Pretoria
UWC 2-0 University of Johannesburg
Coal City Wizards 1-1 Thunderbirds
First Touch 1-2 Sundowns
JVW 1-0 Ma-Indies
TUT 0-2 TS Galaxy
Copperbelt Ladies 1-3 Royal AM
By Matlhomola Morake
