- Sundowns Ladies & UJ Ladies not in action
- 7 matches played
- All games produced winners
- 19 goals in total scored
- Durban Ladies biggest victors (6-1 vs Coal City)
- 5 teams failed to score – Ma-Indies, Copperbelt, First Touch, JVW, Thunderbirds
- 4 teams won at home – Durban Ladies, Richmond, Royal Am, City Lads
- 3 won away – Tuks Ladies, TS Galaxy, UWC
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) have opened a six-point gap at the top of the Hollywoodbets Super League table following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over JVW in a pulsating and entertaining clash played at the UJ Soccer Stadium in Soweto on Sunday, 19 November 2023.
It was an important result for the title-chasing Blues who are trying to fend off the challenge of second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies – the defending champions, who are second on 66 points – but with three games in hand.
The Brazilians have not been in action in the league due to commitments in the 2023 CAF Women’s Champions League in Cote d’Ivoire, which came to an end on Sunday (19 November) after they were crowned champions for the second time in a row (2021, 2023). They defeated Moroccan side SC Casablanca 3-0, with a brace from Refilwe Tholakele and one from Boitumelo Rabale.
JVW 0 – 1 UWC
Back in the domestic league, the exciting and difficult JVW vs UWC clash needed a costly mistake by Jabulile Mazibuko in the second half (who was understandably gutted after the match), after a back pass went astray – and Khanya Xesi pounced on the loose ball to score the winner past an exposed Kaylin Swart in goals.
The victory has surely given the Capetonians hope and renewed their title aspirations, with their second win in as many games, despite being without influential captain Bongeka Gamede who is nursing an injury.
With the win, they made it a double over the Blue Diamonds, whom they defeated 2-0 in the first round.
In their penultimate fixture on Wednesday (22 November), UWC face another tough customer, TS Galaxy Queens in Mpumalanga.
Six other matches were played on Sunday, with Sundowns Ladies and the University of Johannesburg not in action.
TS GALAXY QUEENS 2 – 0 FIRST TOUCH
TS Galaxy Queens, who are in a tussle for third place with JVW, gained an advantage as they claimed the spot with a 2-0 win over First Touch at the Rugby Field next to the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
The Mpumalanga outfit, with a superior goal difference, is now on 57 points, level with the Blue Diamonds after the latter dropped points against UWC.
TS Galaxy has a game in hand.
MA-INDIES LADIES 0 – 3 UNIV. OF PRETORIA
Ma-Indies Ladies’ final run in the Hollywoodbets Super League is fast appearing to be a sad one as they lost their penultimate match – their third defeat in a row as they went down 3-0 to the University of Pretoria at the Rugby Field next to the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
This was the 25th loss in 29 matches for the already relegated Limpopo side.
The students remain sixth on the table.
ROYAL AM 2 – 0 THUNDERBIRDS LADIES
Royal AM proved too strong for Thunderbirds Ladies as they triumphed 2-0 at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.
Both sides retain their positions on the league table – with Royal AM fifth while the Eastern Cape outfit lies on the 14thspot.
RICHMOND UNITED 2 – 1 TUT
The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) travelled all the way to De Aar in the Northern Cape and returned empty-handed following a 2-1 loss to Richmond United at Merino Park.
The hosts had a spring in their step after defeating the title-chasing UWC last weekend, and continued where they left off, grabbing back to back wins after three straight draws.
With one match remaining for the season, Richmond is seventh, while TUT is 10th with two games to go.
CITY LADS LADIES 1 – 0 COPPERBELT LADIES
In both teams’ penultimate match of the season, City Lads Ladies defeated newcomers Copperbelt Ladies 1-0 in Gqeberha at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium.
The result doesn’t help either side as they remain 13th and 12th respectively – level on 25 points each.
For the Limpopo side, they will be satisfied with their showing in their first year in the elite women’s football league, while the hosts will have a lot of questions following a rollercoaster ride of a season, where they managed to escape relegation.
DURBAN LADIES 6 – 1 COAL CITY WIZARDS: 13h00
Durban Ladies were the biggest winners this weekend as they inflicted more pain on the already relegated Coal City Wizards in a 6-1 win.
The two sides met at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi, with the result helping the KwaZulu Natal outfit move a notch up the standings to the eighth spot, swopping positions with UJ Ladies who were not in action.
Durban Ladies has 44 points, one above ninth-placed students who have a game in hand.
HOLLYWOODBETS SUPER LEAGUE RESULTS:
| Sunday, 19 November 2023 | |||
| CITY LADS | 1-0 | COPPERBELT LADIES | Isaac Wolfson Stadium, Gqeberha |
| MA-INDIES LADIES | 0-3 | UNIV. OF PRETORIA | Rugby Field next to Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane |
| DURBAN LADIES | 6-1 | COAL CITY WIZARDS | King Zwelithini Stadium, Umlazi |
| FIRST TOUCH | 0-2 | TS GALAXY QUEENS | Rugby Field next to Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane |
| JVW | 0-1 | UWC | UJ Soccer Stadium, Soweto |
| RICHMOND UNITED | 2-1 | TUT | Merino Park, De Aar, Norther Cape |
| ROYAL AM | 2-0 | THUNDERBIRDS LADIES | Harry Gwala Stadium, Pietermaritzburg |
By Matlhomola Morake
