Banyana Banyana goal poacher Thembi Kgatlana was the star of the show on Saturday (15 February) as she helped UANL Tigres dismantle Jermaine Seoposenwe’s Rayadas del Monterey 5-1 in one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the season – the Regio Femenil Classic.
Kgatlana opened the scoring in the ninth minute before laying two assists as they proved to be too powerful for the Mexican double league champions. The latter were without the services of the injured Seoposenwe.
Leading 2-1 at the break, Tigres tightened the screws in the second half with three more goals to end the match as a contest – to achieve their biggest defeat in one of the biggest rivalries in Liga MX Femenil.
The last clash between the two side was on 25 November last year in the final play-off match of the Apertura 2024 which Monterey won 4-2 on penalties to clinch the league title to become back to back league champions following their success in the Clausura 2024 in March.
Played at the home of Rayadas, both teams came into the January 2025 edition of the Clasico Regio in contrasting form – and were not where they are expected to be by their standards.
Monterey suffered a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Club America on Week 8 to leave them in sixth place on the league table on 16 points. On the other hand, Tigres scraped through a 2-1 victory over Atletico San Luis.
But following the famous victory, Kgatlana’s team has climbed to the fifth spot on 17 points after nine outings – with five wins so far this season. They have drawn two and lost the same number of games.
The heavy defeat saw Seoposenwe’s side drop to seventh on the table and remain on 16 points following three losses and one stalemate. This was their second defeat in as many fixtures.
Tigres has only lost once in their last seven games against Rayadas, with three wins and same number of draws.
The Clasico Region was also the final game for defender and captain Rebeca Bernal in the colours of Rayadas as she is moving to Washington Spirit in the USA.
With this being the international week, Rayadas and Tigres resume action next month with clashes against Cruz Azul (Monday, 3 March) and Guadalajara Chivas (Tuesday, 4 March) respectively.
Monterey will be hoping Seoposenwe will be over her injury to help resuscitate their title challenge, while Tigres will be crossing fingers for Kgatlana to continue with her rich vein of form. She has now scored five goals in nine games since the start of the 2025 campaign.
Seoposenwe has managed four goals in eight games and missed the latest match due to injury.
The pair, along with other overseas-based players and regulars based in South Africa, have not be called up for Banyana Banyana’s upcoming friendly matches against Lesotho on 22 and 25 February. Head coach Desiree Ellis is trying out new faces with a youthful squad of players plying their trade in the Hollywoodbets Super League as well as the Sasol League.
REGIO FEMENIL CLASICO STATS:
MATCHES: 37
WINS:
- Tigers Femenil: 13
- Rayadas: 7
LOSSES:
- Tigers Femenil: 7
- Rayadas: 13
DRAWS: 17
GOALS:
- Tigres: 58
- Rayadas: 46
LAST SIX FIXTURES:
FC MONTERREY
- Monterrey 5 – 1 Puebla
- Chivas 0 – 1 Monterrey
- Monterrey 1 – 1 Tijuana
- Monterrey 4 – 0 Necaxa
- America 3 – 2 Monterrey
- Monterey 1 – 5 Tigres
UANL TIGRES:
- León 2 – 2 Tigres
- Tigres 5 – 0 Toluca
- Querétaro 1 – 1 Tigres
- Cruz Azul 1 – 2 Tigres
- Tigres 2 – 1 San Luis
- Tigres 5 – 1 Monterrey
By Matlhomola Morake
