JVW won the much-anticipated ‘Battle of the Blues’, registering their first win of the season in the process as they defeated the University of the Western Cape 1-0 at the UJ Soweto Stadium on Friday, 15 March 2024.
The hosts also managed to get the monkey off their back – beating, for the first time, the Capetonians in seven matches in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
Due to loadshedding, the match kicked off at 21h00 instead of the scheduled 19h00.
But not even the two-hour delay could not dampen the spirits of both sides as they came out firing on all cylinders – but it was the home team that emerged victorious after benefitting from a terrible mistake by the Blues goalkeeper on the night, Siphesihle Dlamini. Second-half half substitute, Tanna Hollis, pounced to give the Blue Diamonds the lead, grabbing her second goal of the season.
The youngster is among a trio of JVW Development products that were promoted to the first team at the start of the season – the others are 16-year-old Julia Goncalves, who made her Hollywoodbets Super League debut against UWC, as well as Taylor Berkovic.
The Blue Diamonds have now halted a two-match losing streak, as they fell 2-0 to TS Galaxy Queens and 3-1 to the University of Johannesburg (UJ Ladies).
This was the first time since 2021 that JVW have lost both opening matches – with five wins and a draw for that period.
After three games in the current campaign, the Capetonians’ record now reads: Draw, Win and loss.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
JVW VS UWC:
2021:
- JVW 1 – 3 UWC
- UWC 3 – 1 JVW
2022:
- JVW 0 – 0 UWC
- UWC 0 – 0 JVW
2023:
- JVW 0 – 1 UWC
- UWC 2 – 0 JVW
2024:
- JVW 1 – 0 UWC
Six matches were played on Saturday, 16 March 2024.
The much-anticipated fireworks at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville failed to spark to life in the top-of-the-table clash between the Hollywoodbets Super League log leaders and defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and the high-riding University of Johannesburg (UJ Ladies), who were in second place.
Both came into this encounter with an unblemished record of two victories in as many matches, but at the end of the day Banyana ba Style beat the students 2-0 with two first half goals – one coming from new signee Cimone Sauls. This was her first for Sundowns Ladies. After the goals, the game lost momentum but credit should go to the young students who kept trying to get back into the game against their more experienced opponents, but it was not to be.
With the result, the Brazilians remain top of the log standings – the only team to have won all their opening three fixtures, while UJ Ladies dropped to fourth place.
Banyana ba Style’s dominance over the students continued as they registered their ninth win on the trot since the start of the South African elite women’s football league.
City Lads Ladies had too much firepower upfront as they won the Eastern Cape Derby 4-1 against the struggling Thunderbirds Ladies at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Bisho.
The visitors registered their first win in the league after back-to-back draws, while the hosts are pointless in three outings and find themselves second from bottom.
City Lads are eighth.
At the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu, KwaZulu Natal, the University of Pretoria scored three goals and stole all three points from newcomers Lindelani Ladies in a 3-1 win.
Inge Kaba was the star of the show as she grabbed a hattrick for the students – with two strikes in the first half and another after the break (12′, 20′, 40′).
The newcomers suffered their second defeat in a row, after winning their opening fixture.
Hosts Royal AM could not make use of home advantage as they allowed TS Galaxy Queens to collect all three points at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.
The Rockets flew back home 2-1 victorious with Nicole Michael and Busisiwe Ndimeni firing the visitors to victory.
TUT Matsatsantsa Ladies returned to Tshwane empty-handed after losing 2-1 from their long travel to the Northern Cape for a meeting with Richmond United at Merino Park in De Aar. The two sides came into this fixture at the back of victories. Richmond is now third on the table with seven points – just two adrift of the log leaders.
Limpopo’s First Touch Ladies are struggling to get off the mark, as they lost their third match in a row.
After taking the lead, they surrendered their advantage, allowing Durban Ladies to snatch victory in the dying minutes (90’) of the game.
The fixture took place at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi, near Durban – the only match that was played on Sunday, 17 March 2024.
HOLLYWOODBETS SUPER LEAGUE FIXTURES: WEEK 3
Friday, 15 March 2024
JVW FC 1 – 0 UWC
UJ Soweto Campus
Saturday, 16 March 2024
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS LADIES FC 2 – 0 UNIVERSITY OF JHB FC
Lucas Moripe Stadium
Atteridgeville
THUNDERBIRDS LADIES 1 – 4 CITY LADS
Sisa Dukashe Stadium
East London
ROYAL AM 1 – 2 TS GALAXY QUEENS
Harry Gwala Stadium
Pietermaritzburg
RICHMOND UNITED 2 – 1 TUT MATSATSANTSA FOOTBALL CLUB
Merino Park, De Aar
LINDELANI LADIES 1 – 3 UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
Princess Magogo Stadium
UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE FC 1 – 2 COPPER BELTS FC
Davidson Stadium
Alice
Sunday, 17 March 2024
DURBAN LADIES FC 2 – 1 FIRST TOUCH FC LADIES
King Zwelithini Stadium
Umlazi
By Matlhomola Morake
